- Papa — a nationwide provider that pairs older adults and families for companionship and assistance with everyday tasks — announced it has raised $18 million
Papa — a nationwide provider that pairs older adults and families with Papa Pals for companionship and assistance with everyday tasks — announced it has raised an additional $18 million for its Series B round led by Comcast Ventures. Additional investors in this round include Canaan, Initialized Capital, Sound Ventures, Pivotal Ventures, Magnify Ventures, Behance Founder and Adobe CPO Scott Belsky, the founders of Flatiron Health and their group Operator Partners, and other high-profile investors. Including this round of funding, the company has raised a total of $31 million to date.
The company launched in Miami, Florida a couple of years ago and it expanded to serve families in 17 states with plans to be in all 50 states by January 2021. And Papa is eligible to members through health plans and employers as a benefit.
Papa has grown 20% month over month since inception and it is expecting to increase 5x year over year in membership growth; which has accelerated due to COVID.
This round of funding will be used to continue to grow the company, including expanding the Papa team, launching services in new states across the country, expanding its platform, and growing its dedicated efforts to combat loneliness and social isolation in older adults and families. And Papa’s mission stems from the startling statistics that 50% of adults consider themselves lonely and social isolation increases the risk of death by 29% with low-income individuals being affected the most.
Papa Pals are able to provide companionship to older adults and can help with an array of everyday tasks, including transportation, light household chores, navigating health benefits, doctors’ appointments, prescription refill and pick up, grocery delivery, etc. And this brings value to the Papa Pals in significant ways as they are able to improve the lives of older adults while making a living and augmenting their financial wellbeing.
Social isolation and loneliness as well as other SDOH (Social Determinants of Health) have negative impacts on one’s health. And researchers believe social determinants drive over 80% of health outcomes. In a joint effort to curb growing healthcare costs and focus on companion health, Papa set up programs with a group of providers including Aetna, AvMed, Florida Blue Medicare, Humana, Priority Health, RegenceHealth Plans, etc.
KEY QUOTES:
“We created Papa with the singular goal of supporting older adults and their families throughout the aging journey. The COVID-19 pandemic has unfortunately only intensified circumstances leading to loneliness and isolation, and we’re honored to be able to offer solutions to help families during this difficult time.”
— Papa Founder and CEO Andrew Parker
“Papa is enabling a growing number of older Americans to age at home, while reducing the cost of care for health plans and creating meaningful jobs for companion care professionals. We are excited to join the Papa team as they build upon the company’s innovative solution and accelerate on its path to grow nationally.”
— Fatima Husain, Principal at Comcast Ventures
