Stepful, a company dedicated to re-imagining healthcare training for allied health professional jobs, announced it has raised $31.5 million in Series B funding. Oak HC/FT led the funding round with participation from Y Combinator, Reach Capital, AlleyCorp, SemperVirens, Company Ventures, Green Sands, ECMC Education Impact Fund, Intermountain Ventures, and Cedar Pine.
Stepful now offers educational training programs for entry-level positions, including medical assistants, medical admins, pharmacy technicians, and advanced programs for licensed practical nurses and surgical technicians.
Unlike traditional trade schools, Stepful is an AI-based learning platform with an accelerated format, lower costs, and placement for students who complete the program. So far, the company has seen strong growth in its business, expanding from 50 students in 2021 to more than 30,000 enrollees projected in 2024. With this new funding, Stepful will expand its B2B offering and continue growing its health system partnerships.
Stepful’s platform was designed for working adults, mainly from historically underserved communities, providing virtual instructor-led courses that include live, cohort-based learning sessions and one-on-one coaching for those looking for entry-level positions in hospitals and healthcare settings. And the program’s bite-sized, asynchronous, interactive learning modules allow students to manage their studies alongside other commitments. At the same time, AI-powered feedback offers personalized support and outreach to ensure students don’t fall behind.
The U.S. healthcare system will face a major shortage of allied healthcare workers, nurses and mental health professionals – which could result in increased expenses and employee burnout. And traditional educational models likecommunity colleges and trade schools, often require in-person attendance, have enrollment caps and are costly, limiting their scalability in addressing these shortages.
Stepful’s approach has yielded industry-leading outcomes, such as an 87% NHA CCMA exam pass rate—ten points higher than the national average and a 75% completion rate. And Stepful currently serves 13,000 monthly active students and boasts a network of over 8,000 healthcare partners where students complete hands-on clinical training.
KEY QUOTES:
“This funding supports our mission to make healthcare training more accessible while addressing the U.S. shortage of healthcare workers. It enables us to reach more students, ensuring that our graduates can transition into high-demand roles more quickly, grow our practical nursing offerings and open new schools in key regions. We’re also enhancing our capabilities to better serve healthcare employers by adding tools for screening and vetting, analytics, on-site learning support and to pursue strategic acquisitions.”
– Carl Madi, CEO of Stepful
“Stepful is addressing a significant unmet need to mitigate the health professional labor shortage, and they’re doing it while creating a win-win situation for both students and employers. The quality and outcomes of Stepful’s program have proven to be superior to current options with higher graduation rates, certification pass rates and job placement rates, all at a lower cost. We’re proud to partner with Stepful as they scale their impact.”
– Vig Chandramouli, Partner at Oak HC/FT
