UK-based in-home healthcare provider Cera has raised $150 million in a mixture of debt and equity funding. The round was led by BDT & MSD Partners and Schroders Capital in order to scale Cera’s AI platform. The startup was co-founded by a Czech entrepreneur Marek Sacha, as well as Dr. Ben Maruthappu, CEO, who shared the news on his Linkedin page.

About Cera

  • Cera is a digital-first home healthcare company founded by Dr Ben Maruthappu and Marek Sacha. The company harnesses technology to bring care directly to homes, transforming the healthcare landscape by providing higher quality services at a fraction of the cost.

“We’re taking pressure off the NHS and supporting it to have more capacity to look after other patients. We’ve also expanded into other service lines such as nursing services, physiotherapy, learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and providing mental health services in the home as well. So we’re a much more comprehensive health care at home provider,” says Dr. Ben Maruthappu, co-founder & CEO of Cera.

  • Cera caregivers use its app to plan their work and log patient symptoms. Using its AI modeling, Cera is then able to take that unstructured data (for example “patient had a fall in the night” etc.) and use it to predict the potential for patients to become subject to a greater risk of illness or injury. 

The company claims this has resulted in hospitalization reductions of up to 70%, a 20% reduction in patient falls, and hospital discharges that are up to five times faster.

Investment details

Cera’s $150 million deal is a mixture of debt and equity financing with an undisclosed split. The round was led by funds affiliated with BDT & MSD Partners and Schroders Capital.

  • BDT & MSD Partners is an American merchant bank with an advisory and investment platform built to serve the distinct needs of business owners and strategic, long-term investors.

  • Schroders Capital is a British multinational asset management company headquartered in London. The company is an active investment manager that helps savers and investors meet their long-term financial goals.

The company will use the fresh fund to expand its AI platform.