ViBe Saude, a Brazilian telehealth platform offering virtual consultations led by general practitioners and chronic care management professionals, raised a US$10m Series A from undisclosed Swedish investors. ViBe Saude raised US$2.5m from Webrock Ventures in February 2020.

(LABS News) – Brazil’s ViBe Saúde, a B2C telehealth startup in Brazil, announced it has raised a $10 million Series A funding round led by a group of Swedish healthtech investors.

According to the startup, the funds will be used to further expand its freemium digital primary care service for more than 160 million Brazilians that depend on a public health care system characterized by long waiting times and shortcomings in quality.  The use of proceeds will primarily go towards building clinical staff and customer acquisition.

ViBe’s freemium business model offers on-demand and scheduled virtual consultations with general clinicians, psychologists, and nutritionists, as well as Digital Therapeutics for chronic care management – all integrated with Electronic Health Records and wellness/fitness wearables.

According to the firm, with its top-rated app and free services, it is on a mission to transform and democratize the way Brazilians access quality health care, alleviating the pressure on the public healthcare system.

In February 2020, ViBe secured a Seed Round of $2.5 million led by Swedish-Brazilian investment company Webrock Ventures. With a surge in demand for telehealth in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, ViBe reached more than 500 000 app downloads only five months after launching its new app in July 2020. The startup says it is on track to reach 5 million downloads by the end of 2021.

ViBe has also recently signed an agreement with the largest private hospital and clinic group in Brazil, Rede D’Or, which recently concluded its IPO, valued at over $20 billion. The partnership allows ViBe to further expand into the B2B segment as well as enable continued care for its patients linking digital primary care to physical specialist and tertiary care nationwide.

Globally, telehealth deals have skyrocketed and investors are turning to Brazil for the next opportunity. In a press statement Ian Bonde, co-founder, and CEO at ViBe said that the firm’s mission is to offer the best digital care at accessible prices to all Brazilians.

“We have made great in-roads into doing so throughout 2020 due to our freemium model, having offered over 75,000 free consultations to our users. Our personalized and integrated approach to healthcare has made ViBe the go-to app and first point of contact for all of our user’s healthcare needs. As we grow our team of doctors and psychologists to absorb the exponential growth in demand, we plan to expand our reach and social impact 10-fold over the next twelve months.”

Joakim Pops, founding partner at Webrock Ventures (ViBe largest shareholder and active owner) said that “with a strong team, best-in-class technology, and growing traction, ViBe has great potential to become the leading digital health player in one of the largest health markets in the world while making a positive change for millions of Brazilians.”