Optum Ventures Leads $24M Funding Round for HIT Startup Vim

Optum Ventures, the independent venture fund of Optum, is leading a funding round for Vim, Inc., a healthcare technology company that aims to align incentives between payers and providers to empower value-based care decisions.

The $24 million Series B financing round led by Optum Ventures also included investments from Premera Blue Cross and follow-ons by Great Point Ventures and Sequoia Capital. Vim will use this investment to fuel rapid expansion across new U.S. markets, and accelerate product development and hiring initiatives, according to officials in a recent announcement.

Executives at Vim say that the company’s platform “helps promote affordable, convenient, high-quality care by helping doctors choose the right care providers and guiding patients to optimal care providers through online booking. The company’s platform is powered by collective intelligence from healthcare data and human expertise.”

Since its inception in 2015, the company has raised a total of more than $37 million.

"Vim’s unique ability to help patients find, schedule and receive the highest-quality care while promoting health plan and care provider collaboration will lead to better care outcomes for patients," Jon Bunker, fund advisor for Optum Ventures, said in a statement.

Optum Venture officials say that it invests in digital health companies that use data and insights to help improve consumers' access to healthcare services, how care is delivered and paid for, and that make the healthcare system more reliable and easier to navigate.