UK's Cera Care raises $70 million and rolls out healthtech platform to assist at-home elderly care

Cera Care, a London-based home care startup, has raised $70 million in an equity and debt round led by KairosHQ, a US-based startup builder, along with investors Yabeo, Guinness Asset Management, and a New York family office. The new raise coincides with the roll-out of SmartCare, the company’s platform for predicting and preventing health risks for at-home seniors.

The healthtech startup runs a service hybrid of technology and face-to-face human care. Founded in 2016, Cera has 2,000 employees in 20 offices across the UK, delivering 10,000 care visits per day. SmartCare is an analytics platform that uses artificial intelligence to detect health risks and advises carers and family members about what to do. The company reports the platform is 93 percent accurate at correctly identifying the next best action for a patient. “Our SmartCare platform will mean the difference between an older person spending a week or a month in a hospital ward or getting the right care earlier, so they don’t need to visit a hospital in the first place. At Cera, our ambition is not just to care more – it’s to care better – allowing our parents and grandparents to live in their own homes healthier and for longer,” said Dr. Ben Maruthappu, co-founder and CEO. Currently the startup has 50 public sector contracts, including with the NHS, Uber, and Deliveroo, and has partnered with IBM to test the use of sensors in the home to detect changes in needs when carers aren’t there. The new funding will not only fuel the SmartCare roll-out, it will also allow Cera to acquire several businesses in the home healthcare sector.