Doctor On Demand Pulls In $50 Million To Continue Expansion Of Its Virtual Doctor Visit Platform

Telemedicine startup Doctor on Demand announced that it has raised $50 million in Series B funding and signed its 200th employer customer today. The funding will be used to continue to grow the service as well as sign up new partnerships.

Doctor on Demand provides customers one-on-one sessions with physicians either through and individual account or through employer partnerships such as Comcast Corporation.  It also works with national health plans such as United Healthcare and Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and claims to provide in-network or subsidized access to more than 25 million Americans.

However, the virtual doctor visit platform is increasingly crowded with competition such as HealthTap, MDLive, American Well, Teladoc and many others. There is even an American Telemedicine Association dedicated to ensuring these types of services adhere to proper practices.

The recent growth is a positive sign for Doctor on Demand, and the new infusion of cash will help the startup continue to grow. The startup raised $24 million in seed and Series A prior to the latest round, putting the total at $74 million now.

It looks crowded but there are two categories you can be in in this space. You’re either practicing medicine or you’re not. Adam Jackson, Doctor on Demand CEO
However, Doctor on Demand is going to need that and possibly more to keep pace with others in the space. Teladoc has raised close to the same amount. American Well, which also works with big healthcare providers such as Anthem and Blue Cross Blue Shield, has raised more than double that at $128 million.

None of that bothers Doctor on Demand’s co-founder and CEO Adam Jackson. “It looks crowded but there are two categories you can be in in this space. You’re either practicing medicine or you’re not,” he said. “Practicing medicine means you are taking on all the liability, you’re using real board certified doctors, you’re prescribing medicine.”

He points to HealthTap as an example of a platform that so far has not worked with the larger healthcare providers. That’s not to say that HealthTap or some of the smaller startups in the space won’t at some point, but Jackson said it was really difficult to get those relationships and that this was part of the reason that his startup needed to raise so much money.

Doctor on Demand plans to use that money to build out a sales team and procure even more of the larger corporate customer base. It recently nabbed Union Bank & Trust from a legacy telemedicine provider and has partnered with Wegmans grocery store chain to offer virtual visits while people shop.

Tenaya Capital led the Series B round, and included new investors Qualcomm Ventures, Dignity Health, Jump Capital and 23andMe’s Anne Wojcicki. Existing investors Venrock, Shasta Ventures, and Sir Richard Branson also participated.