UK-based elderly caretech company Birdie has announced that is has raised £8.2 million led by international venture capital firm Index Ventures and with participation from Kamet Ventures.

The investment will be used to expand the business and invest in product innovation.

WHY IT MATTERS

The pandemic has brought on a social care crisis across the globe. The number of people over 65 will double by 2050, and while people are living longer, they are falling sick at the same age.

This increases pressure on an already strained care system, in which 25% of the UK’s home care providers are on the brink of bankruptcy and local authorities in England will face a £4.4 billion funding gap by 2023.

Birdie is addressing this crisis by reinventing care for older people, partnering with care providers to support the ageing population in living healthily at home for longer. Birdie’s intuitive app provides a system for care providers to deliver more coordinated, personalised and preventative care. 

By using a SaaS-based platform like Birdie, the care community can utilise the technology to plan and assess care as well as support its delivery.

Consequently, caregivers decrease time spent on non-critical work like admin, freeing them up to spend more time face-to-face with their care recipients. It also saves costs and allows carers to more easily communicate and share information with an older person’s other care providers, health practitioners, and their families.

THE LARGER CONTEXT

Last month, Apple Fitness + launched new programmes for pregnant people and seniors. Each of the new workout programmes features classes that average about 10 minutes in total and focus on the specific health needs of that group.

ON THE RECORD

Max Parmentier, Birdie CEO and co-founder, said: “Right now, the $1tn elderly care market is woefully underserved, even though it’s growing 8% per year. The care system is at breaking point and many older people aren’t getting the care they deserve. 

“We believe the future of care for older people should be helping them to live at home for as long as possible through the delivery of personalised and preventative care. Birdie is already the partner of choice for caregivers up and down the UK, and this funding will help us rapidly increase the number we partner with and what we can offer them - meaning more people benefiting from more affordable, quality care. We’re proud of our mission and the values we embody to pursue it.” 

James Deeley, chief executive of Alina Homecare, said: “Birdie has delivered from day one as a strong technology partner for our Group. Our values and aspirations are closely aligned and Birdie is transforming the way we deliver and monitor our care, with more than 30,000 visits channelled every month through their platform.”