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MDLIVE raises $50 million in funding. Is an IPO next?

Nancy Dahlberg
Nancy Dahlberg
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MDLIVE, one of the largest and fastest-growing telehealth companies in the country, announced the closing of a $50 million crossover equity investment from Sixth Street Growth, the growth investing arm of San Francisco-based global investing firm Sixth Street Capital.
The $50 million investment will primarily be used for strategic expansion of MDLIVE‘s Virtual Primary Care digital health platform, which serves 45 million members with virtual healthcare services in all 50 states. In a separate transaction, MDLIVE secured $25 million in debt expansion from other investors.
With the new funding, MDLIVE’s valuation is $1 billion – unicorn territory. 
Is an IPO in the South Florida health-tech company’s future? MDLIVE Chairman and CEO Charles Jones told STAT News last month that the company is aiming to go public early next year.  Crossover investors such as Sixth Street hold investments in both private and public companies and crossover investments are sometimes made before an IPO. Sixth Street, with $47 billion in assets under management, has invested in companies including tech giants Airbnb and Spotify.
Like other telehealth companies, Miramar-based MDLIVE has experienced significant, accelerated growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first half of 2020, virtual visits increased more than 95% and total bookings increased by more than 300%; that followed five consecutive years of 45% visit growth, the company said.
“The pandemic has accelerated the rapid disruptive transformation of virtual healthcare delivery,” Jones said, in a statement. “As the demand for MDLIVE’s offerings has reached all-time highs, we remain focused on the expansion of a single, proven technology platform with the flexibility to integrate with devices and the capacity to leverage AI and ingest vast volumes of data necessary for proactive and preemptive care.” 
What’s more, through July, MDLIVE completed nearly 1 million patient visits with large increases reported across all service lines, including year-over-year growth of more than 500% for behavioral health, more than 350% for dermatology and more than 80% for medical care. MDLIVE’s  network includes more than 2,000 physicians, the company said.
Founded in 2009 by Randy Parker, MDLive has been one of South Florida’s most successful healthcare technology companies, and has been a pioneer in a sector that has been one of the region’s fastest-growing. With this investment, MDLIVE has raised more than $173 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. Other investors in MDLIVE include Cigna Ventures, Health Care Service Corporation, Health Velocity Capital, Novo Holdings, Industry Ventures, Sentara Healthcare, Sutter Health, Heritage Group and Bedford Funding. 
Says Michael McGinn, partner and co-head of Sixth Street Growth: “Virtual care has been a long-term theme for our team, and in an increasingly competitive sector MDLIVE stands out as a scaled and differentiated enterprise technology platform providing high-quality, convenient and cost-effective care.”
Follow @ndahlberg on Twitter and email her at [email protected]

Nancy Dahlberg
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