(Bloomberg) — Hinge Health Inc., a provider of digital physical therapy, has raised $400 million in a financing round that more than doubles its valuation from January, as more patients seek remote health care.
The San Francisco-based company is valued at $6.2 billion with the new funding, according to a statement provided to Bloomberg. That’s up from $3 billion in January.
Existing investors Tiger Global Management and Coatue Management led the round, the statement shows. New investors Alkeon Capital Management and Whale Rock Capital Management took a $200 million stake through a secondary investment that allowed some of the company’s early investors to get liquidity, Daniel Perez, Hinge Health’s co-founder and chief executive officer, said in an interview.
Founded in 2014, Hinge Health runs a digital clinic aimed at helping people who have back or joint pain complete physical therapy from their homes. Patients wear motion-tracking sensors to monitor their movement, while software on a tablet guides them through exercises or stretches. Its services are targeted at people recovering from or trying to prevent injuries, as well as those dealing with chronic pain.
“Everyone is assigned a physical therapist but can do exercises whenever they want,” Perez said in an interview. “The software is guiding them.”
Remote Care
Demand for digital-health services has increased during the pandemic as patients, insurers and doctors get more comfortable with the idea of remote medical care.
“Digital health has been around for a while but Covid struck just as the technology was hitting a key maturation point and consumer expectations were changing,” Perez said. “If I can order a movie and watch it instantly, why have I not been able to speak to a doctor instantly? Why can’t I do my physical therapy at home?”
The company plans to use the new investment to build out its management team and hire more technologists and engineers, Perez said. Its current workforce is nearing 1,000 employees. In the past year, Hinge Health, which isn’t yet profitable, has doubled its customer base — primarily health insurers and employers — to more than 575 companies, Perez said.
The company also said it hired Amazon.com Inc. engineer Lalith Vadlamannati as chief technology officer. Vincent Lim, who has held roles at Juul Labs Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, joined as chief people officer.
While an initial public offering isn’t an immediate priority, it’s on the horizon.
“We have sufficient capital to meet all of our growth needs,” Perez said. “We’re also able to engage in M&A. We have lots of flexibility. We don’t have a pressing need to go public but we want to be operationally ready to go public when we want to.”
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