California-based patient care coordination company hits $1B valuation with $130M in new funding
Solace Health, a company that connects patients with expert help to find them appropriate care, announced on Tuesday that it's earned $130 million in Series C funding, bringing its valuation to the coveted “unicorn status” of $1 billion.
Founded in 2022, the California-based startup is the brainchild of CEO Jeremy Gurewitz and Chief Product Officer Sara Sargent, who said they founded the company after their own experiences navigating the “fragmented” U.S. healthcare system.
In a statement, the company provides details on Gurewitz’s experience helping his mother, a radiologist, who struggled to understand her options and find the most suitable care after a pancreatic cancer diagnosis.
Despite her medical expertise, she relied on her son to be her patient advocate.
“This experience exposed a stark truth: if a physician needs an advocate, the system is fundamentally broken for everyone else,” the company wrote.
Solace Health’s promise is to make care encounters easier by connecting anyone with a need to their own healthcare advocate, who presents them with options based on their unique circumstances and helps coordinate appointments with providers. This is designed to happen after the diagnosis of an illness but before treatment begins.
The service aims to shorten time-to-care and improve “outcomes at scale,” the company added. It said it employs 2,000 “experienced advocates,” currently limited to supporting Medicare and Medicare Advantage members.
Nationwide expansion
The influx of funds is intended to be used to expand its workforce and invest in new technology and research to support its core patient advocacy services. This includes a focused effort to get involved in patient encounters earlier by strengthening its connection to providers and payers.
“The healthcare system has normalized leaving patients to figure things out themselves in their vulnerable moments,” Gurewitz said. “That failure is costly, dangerous, and preventable.”
This funding round was led by IVP, which focuses on companies in an early stage of growth. Menlo Ventures, SignalFire, Torch Capital, Inspired Capital and RiverPark Ventures also participated.
“IVP understands how to scale companies where execution and consequences are inseparable,” Gurewitz added. “This partnership allows us to embed advocacy earlier in care, at national scale, and establish it as a permanent part of how healthcare works in the U.S.”
Solace Health’s platform is fully HIPAA-compliant. At present, the company said it has more than 20,000 patient customers it serves every month, who it connects to experts via text messages, phone calls and video chats.
New funds will be used to help it scale its services from coast to coast.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.