Function Health raises $298M Series B at $2.5B valuation

Summary

From electronic health records and blood tests to the stream of data from wearable devices, the amount of health information people generate is accelerating rapidly. Yet, many users struggle to connect this trove of data in a meaningful way and actually use it to improve their health. Function Health, which offers a regular lab testing service to help people track their health, wants to change that by consolidating health data and making it usable for its customers by connecting that data to an AI model. To further that effort, the company recently raised $298 million in a Series B round led by Redpoint Ventures at a valuation of $2.5 billion. The funding round also saw participation from a16z, Aglaé Ventures, Alumni Ventures, NBA athletes Allen Crabbe, Blake Griffin and Taylor Griffin, Battery Ventures, Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross’ investment firm, NFDG, and Roku founder Anthony Wood. The round brings the company’s total capital raised to $350 million. Alongside the funding, Function unveiled Medical Intelligence Lab, an effort to build a “medical intelligence” generative AI model that can be used to provide personalized health insights based on users’ data, content and research. The company said the model is trained by doctors. For its customers, the company is offering an AI chatbot that can answer questions based on their health data, and can tap their previous lab results, doctor’s notes and scans to provide tailored guidance. “It is not good enough to be in a world where AI exists and not be applying it to your health,” Jonathan Swerdlin, CEO and co-founder of Function, told TechCrunch. “You should be able to manage your biology. The objective of Function Health is to apply the best available technology to human health.” Swerdlin noted the platform meets HIPAA standards, fully encrypts user data, and never sells personal information. “Your data and your identity are never for sale. Every bit of your information is fully encrypted and protected. We are commit...