Europe’s Virtual Hospital Raises Fresh Funds to Accelerate European Expansion, with Focus on Germany
Leading virtual ward technology provider Doccla has received a strategic investment of €5 million Euro from Bertelsmann Investments, the global venture capital arm of Bertelsmann Corporation.
The funding (received in the form of a convertible loan) will be deployed for Doccla’s European expansion – with a focus on Germany, which Doccla views as a priority market during the next phase of their expansion. The fresh cash follows September 2022’s Series A round (participants included General Catalyst, KHP Ventures, Giant Ventures, and Speedinvest).
Doccla CEO, Dag Larsson, commented, “We are very proud to have Bertelsmann Investments with us on our journey to bring remote patient monitoring to as wide a patient base as possible. Doccla is scaling rapidly and in order to bolster our position as Europe’s virtual hospital, we require the best people in our corner. Bertelsmann Investments’ deep industrial expertise and remarkable team make them an ideal partner for the next chapter in the Doccla journey. Our European expansion will bring virtual wards – and their benefits – to a whole new level.”
Bertelsmann Investments CEO, Carsten Coesfeld, added, “With Doccla’s innovation, everyone involved wins. Patients can go home earlier, hospitals have more beds available, and health insurers see a reduction in healthcare costs. Doccla is the right investment decision for us: The track record in the U.K. is convincing, and we are delighted to support the team around the founders Dag Larsson and Martin Ratz with their expansion in Europe. Together, we have already successfully initiated the start in Germany. Within Bertelsmann Investments, the Bertelsmann Next unit focuses its investments on the fast-growing digital health sector. We see great opportunities for the digital healthcare market overall and have invested 90 million Euro in the market since last year.”
Stefan Zundel recently joined Doccla as the General Manager for Germany to strengthen the local presence and focus on German clients. A former McKinsey consultant and experienced digital health entrepreneur, he previously founded the ophthalmology startup Dopavision and is passionate about advancing the digitalization of German healthcare.
Speaking on the investment and German market launch, Zundel said, “Remote monitoring technology and virtual wards can – and will – deliver terrific patient outcomes in Germany. It will relieve the cost pressure and staff shortage which we are already seeing right now. I am convinced that the inpatient and outpatient sectors will move closer together in Germany, and remote monitoring will become a part of standard care in the future. We are excited to build on our UK success and get to work with hospitals across the country. Bertelsmann Investments’ digital health focus will enable us to scale at the critical rate required.”
Doccla’s virtual ward technology is designed to keep patients at home and out of hospital, whilst still being closely digitally monitored by healthcare professionals. Patients receiving care through the virtual ward service are given a tailor-made box of equipment, which includes a pre-configured tablet. The box also includes wearable medical devices that, depending on a person’s needs, can measure heart rate, respiration rate, body temperature, blood oxygen levels, blood pressure, and a range of other vital signs.
Launched in the UK during the pandemic, Doccla was created following the unexpected heart attack of its founder, Martin Ratz, who soon realized the immense benefits of virtual ward and monitoring technology to patients and healthcare systems. Since then, the company has experienced extraordinary growth: today it is present in one in three of all Integrated Care Systems (ICS) in the UK. To date, Doccla has already saved thousands of bed days for the British NHS and has achieved a 29% reduction in Emergency Admissions and a 20% reduction in A&E attendance for client health trusts.
About Doccla
Doccla is the UK’s leading virtual ward company. We partner with hospitals to enable early discharge and reduced readmission across a wide range of patient groups. Our end-to-end solution is device-agnostic, integrates with local systems, and delivers data-driven insights. As an accredited healthcare operator, we provide additional clinical capacity – not just technology – to reduce hospital workload. Our virtual ward service is a market leader in patient compliance and satisfaction.
Doccla investors include international VC General Catalyst (backers of industry leaders such as Airbnb, Deliveroo, Monzo, and Stripe), KHP Ventures (a collaboration between King’s College London, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust), Giant Ventures, and Speedinvest.
In August 2023 Doccla acquired medically certified cloud-based platform OpenTeleHealth, which immediately expanded Doccla’s global presence, meaning the company now has clients in 13 countries (10 in Europe), with almost 10,000 patients under active monitoring. For further information please visit: doccla.com.
About Bertelsmann Investments
Bertelsmann Investments (BI) comprises Bertelsmann’s global venture capital activities as well as the Bertelsmann Next growth unit. The venture capital arm includes the Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI), Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), and Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI) funds, as well as selected fund and direct holdings in markets including Europe, the United States, Brazil, Southeast Asia, and Africa. The Bertelsmann Next unit advances the entrepreneurial development of new growth sectors and business areas, including digital health, mobile gaming, and HR Tech. To date, around €1.7 billion has been invested in more than 400 innovative companies and funds through Bertelsmann Investments. Bertelsmann Investments currently holds over 300 active investments worldwide through its network of start-ups and funds.
Originally announced November 22nd, 2023
