Doktor24 Group, consisting of digital health company Platform24 and care provider Doktor24, has announced that it has raised around €40m in a latest funding round that will allow it to expand in Europe and further develop its solution.
Founded in 2016, the Stockholm-based group promised to create accessible and sustainable care with a focus on the patient. By integrating digital and physical healthcare providers, the healthtech visionary claims to have developed a healthcare network system that optimises access to healthcare. It operates through a subsidiary, Platform24, which develops technical solutions for digitally integrated care for healthcare providers.
Its health networks offer patients the ability to access digital medical visits for all everyday health problems, from allergies and urinary tract infections to depression and anxiety, from doctors, nurses and psychologists, all with very short waiting times.
Since May 2020, the company has also been present in a series of pharmacies throughout the country, offering vaccinations, samples and health care. It collaborates with health centres, emergency rooms and sampling units across Sweden, while , it also offers healthcare services through its Doktor24 clinics at Apoteket in Stockholm, Apoteket AB being a state-owned pharmaceutical retailer in Sweden.
The company’s doctors, nurses and psychologists all have Swedish identity cards and many combine their work for Doktor24 with physical healthcare.
With over 300,000 patient cases per month, Doktor24 provides solutions for automated care guidance and patient communication in the Nordic region. Its customers are the Nordic healthcare regions, insurance companies and healthcare providers. Following its latest funding round, Doktor24 now plans to expand its services to other European markets.
In addition to its European expansion, the company will use the newly acquired funds to develop its platform and services, the latter soon to include the provision of chronic healthcare.
Daniel Lillienau, CEO of the Doktor24 Group, welcomed his new investors, Stena Sessan and Ernström & Co, on board the company’s journey towards European expansion. Lillienau also explained that the recent digital shift in the healthcare sector has resulted in a strong demand for the solutions Doktor24 has to offer, both in Sweden and abroad.
“We will now invest more in our product and in expanding the platform. In Sweden, we will also focus even more on partnership, and we invite other healthcare providers to join us and help us build the first digital and physical health network,” he concludes.
This latest round of funding was supported by Doktor24 Group’s principal owner Patricia Industries (part of Investor AB) and Apoteket AB, closely followed by new shareholders including investment company Stena Sessan and Ernström & Co.
Kristina Patek, Senior Investment Director at Stena Sessan, said after the round: “The world is now faced with the increasing healthcare needs of the population, long waiting lists and rising healthcare costs. To meet this challenge, digitisation is crucial, and the Doktor24 Group is uniquely positioned to unlock the potential of healthcare and create more cohesive, efficient and accessible care that benefits the whole community.”
Who are the new shareholders?
Stena Sessan is an investment company that is part of the Stena sphere and is owned by the Olsson family. Through collaborations with other owners, company management and organisations, they participate in the development of companies to meet the challenges and needs of the future. The investment in the Doktor24 Group is in line with Stena Sessan’s strategy and goal of building a well-diversified portfolio of companies with development opportunities for future generations.
Ernström & Co. is also a family-owned investment company that, in active cooperation with other partners, owns and develops companies to create long-term value. The company is industry-independent and invests primarily in growth companies, both listed and unlisted. Ernström’s main holdings are Platzer, Ernströmgruppen, Nederman, Collector, 24Storage, Buddi, CellMark, Apotea and NA-KD.