NewView Capital Leads A $22.3 Million Series B Round Of Funding For Australian Telehealth Platform Eucalyptus
NewView Capital leads a $22.3 million Series B round of funding for Australian telehealth platform Eucalyptus
Telehealth platform Eucalyptus raised a $22.3 million Series B round of funding to expand its digital health portfolio for primary care in Australia.
The round was led by NewView Capital, with participation from existing investors Blackbird Ventures and W23, as well as newcomer AirTree Ventures. Ravi Viswanathan, founder and managing partner of NewView, will join the Eucalyptus board as part of the investment.
Tim Doyle, Benny Kleist, Alexey Mitko, and Charlie Gearside founded the Sydney-based company in 2019.
Australia's healthcare system is a two-payer system, with the government paying for the majority of care and individuals paying for a smaller portion of coverage. Eucalyptus fits into these models as a direct-to-consumer option. Doyle told TechCrunch that in some cases, the company is able to charge lower copays for care than the industry standard of $25 per doctor visit.
He describes the company as Australia's "largest vertically integrated telehealth platform," with over 200,000 patients served across four demographic-focused brands: contraception and fertility, skincare, men's health, and sexual wellness. Each brand has its own core platform of healthcare providers, data repository for patients, remote monitoring tools, and partnerships with pathology labs and pharmacies.
All of this results in a more personal and qualitative relationship between physician and patient, Doyle explained.
“We see an opportunity to reduce the time between diagnosis and identification of a condition,” he added. “We also want to delve deeper into diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mental health. People are dropping out of diabetes and mental health care because there are not enough easily accessible touch points. If we can establish a hub, it will make treating those conditions easier.”
Along with product development, the new funding enables Eucalyptus to establish a strong foothold in the telehealth industry. In the coming year, the company will launch new brands focused on chronic care areas such as behavioral health, weight management, and diabetes.
Eucalyptus Sales
Eucalyptus sales more than tripled last year and Doyle anticipates similar growth this year. This is similar to other startups in the digital health sector, where venture capital investment reached another record level in 2020. He also anticipates expanding his workforce, from 80 to 100 employees by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Doyle expressed excitement about collaborating with NewView, particularly with Viswanathan and Principal Christina Fa, who stated that Eucalyptus demonstrates Australia's ability to lead in digital healthcare.
“The team is impressive in terms of vision and execution, particularly in terms of how they hired people to manage the brands,” she told TechCrunch. “It's unique to be based in Australia, where Teladoc and other digital health companies do not exist. Rather than that, Eucalyptus was forced to build everything in-house and do the hard work up front. Additionally, they curated a network of health providers and four distinct brands. This enables them to operate vertically and control the customer journey.”
