Providence Ventures has raised another $150 million fund to invest in early-stage healthcare technology companies, doubling the size of its investment portfolio to $300 million.
The Seattle-based investment group launched in 2014 as the investment arm of a 163-year-old not-for-profit Catholic healthcare provider, Providence St. Joseph Health (PSJH), which is the nation’s third-largest health system.
Providence Ventures made 15 investments from its first $150 million fund and joined forces in investments with 25 other VC firms. It will invest between $5 and $15 million in portfolio companies as part of the new fund.
The firm is run by Aaron Martin, a former Amazon executive who previously built the company’s self-publishing and print-on-demand business for Kindle North America. Martin is the managing general partner of Providence Ventures and also the chief digital and innovation officer of PSJH. He also oversees Providence’s internal startup incubator, which has started to spin out new companies.
“Providence Ventures’ investment model is to find and invest in companies that create needle-moving opportunities that address top priorities for PSJH,” Martin said in a statement. “As evidence of the success of this model, all fifteen of our portfolio companies have commercial agreements with us, including several which have expanded enterprise-wide since our initial investment.”
Past investments from the first fund include Xealth, a Seattle startup started by Mike McSherry, former CEO of digital keyboard company Swype. Xealth is reportedly working with Amazon on a pilot program that will let doctors “prescribe” items for delivery to patients’ homes, a partnership that has raised eyebrows among health privacy experts.
Providence also took a stake in Kyruus, a data management platform for healthcare providers, and backed Trilliant Health, a healthcare analytics firm. Earlier in 2018, the venture fund backed Gauss Surgical, the creator of an iPad app that detects blood loss during childbirth. It also invested in mobile health company Wildflower Health last summer.
Providence Ventures recently added two members to its team. The company’s newest partner, David Kereiakes, joined from River Cities Capital funds and senior associate Rich Proscia formerly worked on venture investments at CVS and Athenahealth.
