Medici, an Austin, Texas-based startup that offers a texting app to connect patients and their doctors, has raised more than $22 million in private capital.
Investors in the Series A round included Citadel’s Ken Griffin; Starwood Capital’s Barry Sternlicht; Jetro’s Natie Kirsh; Swordfish’s Amit Bhatia; Publix’s Howard Jenkins; Tesla’s Antonio Gracias; Moody National’s Brett Moody; and Tom Meredith of Meritage Capital and formerly of Dell.
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“We are blessed and honored to have such great investors on our team,” Medici founder and CEO Clinton Phillips said, according to a news release. “Our investors are world shapers who are passionate about transforming healthcare globally.”
Phillips did not immediately respond to an emailed question asking what the funds will be used for.
In 2016, the Austin startup raised $24.2 million, MobiHealth News reported.
Often called the “WhatsApp of healthcare,” Medici’s app allows patients to text all their doctors — including their physician, dentist, therapist and even veterinarian — from a single platform. And if they feel the need for video communication, patients can press a button to activate the video chat feature. Individuals can ask their doctors to join the app, or providers can invite their patients to use the platform.
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As for a business model, the startup lets doctors use its app for free in exchange for a portion of their revenues. Alternatively, they can pay $149 per month for the service.
The company has launched in all 50 states. In an interview last year, Phillips discussed plans to expand Medici to South Africa at the beginning of 2018, as well as onboard 3,000 to 5,000 doctors to support the expansion.
Medici isn’t Phillips’ first business undertaking. He previously founded telehealth company 2nd.MD, a second opinion service for complex medical conditions. But after starting the organization, he came to a realization about how unhappy many physicians are. The solution, he realized, was texting, which allows doctors to respond at a faster rate.
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