Marigold Health Secures $11m in Series A Funding to Expand Peer Support
June 18 2024 - 10:11AM
Business Wire
Tech-enabled provider of peer support
services to deliver critical care to the 94% of American adults
with a substance use disorder are not receiving treatment
Marigold Health, the tech-enabled peer recovery innovator, today
announced the close of an $11 million Series A fundraise. The round
was led by Rock Health and Innospark Ventures with additional
investment from the Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA), Wavemaker360,
Stand Together Ventures Lab, Epsilon Health Investors, Koa Labs,
VNS Health Plan and KdT Ventures. Marigold is addressing a national
shortage of SUD care by expanding access to high-quality peer
support. Their proprietary peer support program combines one-on-one
coaching from a certified peer specialist with 24/7 access to
text-based support groups in the Marigold app, which is integrated
with natural language processing that flags health needs expressed
in chats and triggers additional support when needed.
The new funding comes after Marigold achieved significant
milestones with seed funding in communities hit hardest by the
Opioid Crisis. From 2020-22, Marigold conducted a pilot with a
major managed Medicaid organization in Delaware and quickly grew to
become the state’s largest provider of peer recovery supports. An
outcomes analysis of 1000 Marigold app signups found that 98%
reported improvement in at least 1 dimension of Recovery Capital, a
clinically validated metric that measures an individual’s ability
to maintain long-term recovery.
The Series A will allow Marigold to meet a national demand for
more engaging SUD supports – their program is currently available
to 25,000 members in Delaware, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts and
Marigold is expecting to expand to at least 4 additional states by
the end of next year.
“Historically, most investment in SUD care has focused on the
small minority of people already receiving and open to treatment"
said Shrenik Jain, Founder and CEO of Marigold Health. “Generally,
this treatment isn’t very effective - peer support is the unspoken
reality on how most people finally get better. We’re creating a
safe place for our members to empower each other and get the best
out of a broken system.”
The company is currently prioritizing partnerships with Medicaid
and duals health plans covering medically complex or vulnerable
populations, some of who have joined this round. Marigold expects
to continue its strategy of implementing a value-based
reimbursement model for peer support, ensuring that improved member
outcomes lead to less total healthcare expenses.
Aman Shah, VP of New Ventures at VNS Health, one of the nation’s
largest nonprofit home healthcare organizations, and integrated
Medicaid-Medicare health plan explains, “We made the decision to
invest after seeing how Marigold engaged and reduced costs for
members with SUD at other health plans. Marigold’s unique approach
combines traditional peer support services with technology that is
highly complementary to existing programs that engage individuals
with substance use disorders.”
Arvin Grover, General Partner at Digital Health Venture
Partners, added "Marigold can wrap around any existing treatment
program to consistently engage members and demonstrate real world
results.”
Investors were also compelled by Marigold’s technology platform
- the company leverages proprietary natural language processing
(NLP) to upskill peer specialists, ensure online interactions are
constructive, and inform the efforts of other treatment
providers.
“Marigold’s team has a unique vision that involves investing
heavily in their served communities and scaling the impact of their
efforts through AI.” said Andy Palmer of Koa Labs.
Mark Legare of Innospark Ventures, a VC fund focused on AI,
highlighted that Marigold’s platform is valuable to many
stakeholders. “Marigold has built innovative technology grounded in
direct feedback from health plans, providers, and peers to drive
scalable impact."
"Marigold has achieved impressive milestones due to a
combination of community partnerships, innovative technology, and a
commitment to real-world outcomes.” said Bill Evans, Founder and
General Partner at Rock Health. "We are excited to support their
next phase of growth."
In addition to expanding their covered population, Marigold
expects to grow its peer workforce and continue to develop their
NLP. The Company's longer-term vision is to build a nationally
distributed peer delivery model that can support a range of chronic
conditions beyond SUD.
About Marigold Health:
Marigold Health's mission is to give people agency in their
health and recovery. We build technology to facilitate human
connection and train people in recovery to support others. Founded
in 2016, Marigold has engaged thousands of members and validated
novel peer-peer interventions in multiple federally-funded studies.
Our partners are a diverse network of primary care clinics,
substance use treatment providers, hospital systems, and health
insurance plans.
We’re growing! To learn more about careers at Marigold, visit
https://jobs.lever.co/marigoldhealth
About Rock Health:
Rock Health invests in entrepreneurs building remarkable
businesses at the intersection of healthcare and technology. We
also help teams at major corporations understand and act on
opportunities in digital health's evolving landscape.
About Innospark Ventures:
Innospark Ventures is an early- stage venture firm investing in
AI driven companies.
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Matt Walsh Matt@marigoldhealth.com