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Lin Health, a digital behavioral health platform for chronic pain patients, has secured $11 million in an oversubscribed Series A financing round.
"We believe in what we do. We believe in the power of the product and program, and our mission is to get it to as many people as possible," Yehuda Kogan, CEO and cofounder of Lin Health, told MobiHealthNews.
The round was led by Proofpoint Capital, with participation from new investors Osage Venture Partners and NewHealth Ventures.
Proofpoint Capital's Dan Goldsmith, who is a partner at the venture capital firm, joins Lin Health's board of directors.
"We had multiple offers, but I really wanted Dan Goldsmith to join our board given his experience as an operator and entrepreneur. So, from that perspective, finding Dan was hard, but once we met, I think that that was easy," Kogan said.
Existing investors aMoon, Mayo Clinic, Saban Ventures, Shoni HealthVentures and Viola Ventures also participated in the Series A round.
Lin Health's digital health platform pairs chronic pain patients with a pain recovery coach to create a personalized care plan. The coach guides them through the program, while a multidisciplinary clinical team provides oversight.
Kogan noted that while the platform uses AI on the back end to help the company scale, all care is delivered by humans.
"Our care platform is AI-driven, so we can scale efficiently. We don't use AI to deliver care. The care is delivered by people, and I think that's the right way to go right now," Kogan said.
"I think that healthcare is very much a trust business. Patients trust people, their providers. Providers trust other providers. And also, obviously, as we engage with large organizations, trust is key. I think that AI is still yet to be able to develop the right level of trust that is required in delivering care."
The Colorado-based company will use the funds to advance product innovation and expand its go-to-market efforts. The funds will also be used to strengthen its clinical partnerships and accelerate its expansion nationwide.
Last year, Lin Health announced an expanded partnership with Mayo Clinic to offer patients in Arizona access to its platform, in addition to its already existing collaboration with the health system.
"We are now partnering with over 10 practices within the Mayo Clinic network … and, obviously, Mayo Clinic is playing an important role in positioning the company as a forward-thinking and care delivery company," Kogan said.
Lin Health also has existing partnerships with other major health systems and payers, making the platform accessible to more than 60 million individuals.
"This year is proving that companies that are fully embedding themselves into the healthcare system are getting funded," Kogan said.
He said Lin Health's model was always to serve patients first and foremost, but also partner to embed the company's platform into provider workflows and get into the financial railways of the health plans.
"This is an exciting time to be a digital health entrepreneur. There are a lot of challenges; the market is challenging. The way that the healthcare system is operating is challenging because of the friction, and that really motivates us to move forward. So, challenging on one hand, but really rewarding on the other hand," Kogan said.
