- Beep was founded in 2016 by physician Vander Corteze that wanted to create a health platform for Brazilian mobiles;
- Today Beep has 500 employees and has more than 250 open positions.
Brazilian startup Beep Saúde, which wants to offer “a medical clinic through your cell phone”, announced on Wednesday that it has received a BRL 110 million Series B round, led by US fund Valor Capital Group.
The round also included DNA Capital, Bradesco and Endeavor Catalyst, besides angel investors, such as David Vélez, co-founder and CEO of Nubank.
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The funds will be invested by the company on two fronts: in the expansion of the service portfolio and geographic expansion to serve the main metropolitan regions of Brazil.
Beep was founded in 2016 by physician Vander Corteze to create a health platform for Brazilian mobiles. The first line of services provided by Beep was the application of vaccines at home. It currently works in Rio de Janeiro, the Federal District, São Paulo, and Paraná states.
According to the startup, today the company is the leader in providing vaccines at home in Brazil and is expanding its operations to perform laboratory tests, also at home, for beneficiaries of private health plans such as Bradesco and Care Plus.
Beep users can also access the heel prick (for newborns), fetal sexing, and COVID-19 testing. “The pandemic has changed the way people take care of their health. Providing services at home, which was already relevant for convenience, became essential for those who wanted to continue to take care of themselves without risking exposure during the pandemic,” says Vander Corteze, CEO of Beep, in a press statement.
Beep has 500 employees today and is more than 250 open positions. The idea is to double the number of the team by the end of the year. “We will not only grow the team, but also the services provided. We are studying other lines of business, such as drug delivery. We are on the path to becoming the one-stop-shop of healthcare, concentrating all major services in one place and providing them in the comfort of our users’ homes – or any other place they want,” Corteze highlights.
Health techs speed up private healthcare amidst the collapse of Brazilian public health system
The peak of the pandemic in Brazil in March 2021 has led the Brazilian public health system, SUS, to collapse in some regions. At the same time, the private healthcare sector is experiencing a business boom.
When COVID-19 put a spotlight on the health problems in the country, there was a growing investment in startups in the area, which reflects the sector’s expectation for a growing demand, generated by the aging of the Brazilian population.
According to Michael Nicklas, managing partner of Valor Capital Group, Beep Saúde is leading a structural change observed in different aspects of the health market on a global scale. “Before the pandemic, there was not so much certainty about the demand and outlook for services provided by health techs. Throughout the past year, the uncertainties were broken, changing habits that will certainly never fully return to their origins. Not surprisingly, 2020 was marked by several rounds to startups in the health sector.”
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In February, Alice, a health tech startup that offers health insurance directly to individuals, announced a $33 million investment. The new round was led by Boston-based venture capital firm ThornTree Capital Partners, along with current Alice investors including Kaszek Ventures, Canary, and Maya Capital. Endeavor Catalyst has joined the company’s shareholders.
Another example of a segment strengthened by the pandemic is mental health. Taking advantage of the high demand, several startups raised significant rounds to further scale their businesses. One of the latest was Zenklub, a Brazilian and Portuguese emotional health and personal development platform that announced a BRL 45 million round led by SK Tarpon and GK Ventures, also counting with the participation of current Portuguese investor Indico Capital Partners.
