London-based care platform Lottie has raised £6m in an investment round led by US venture capital firm General Catalyst.
Lottie is a residential care comparison website created by brothers Chris and Will Donnelly after a stressful experience finding care for their grandmother.
“Covid-19 has supercharged the move of the later living industry from offline to online, from the initial search process and how care seekers engage with later living communities, through to the adoption of digital care plans and new operational technologies,” said Will Donnelly, co-founder, Lottie.
Lottie says that the latest funding puts the company at a valuation of £45m.
Founded last year, Lottie will use the funding to build new care provider tools, grow its employee benefits service Seniorcare, add new care partners and grow across the UK.
Donnelly added: “Lottie’s operational technology is already being used by hundreds of the UK’s most forward-thinking later living providers, which has been fundamental in allowing an improved customer experience.”
Recently Lottie increased its offering to include retirement living.
Data Bridge says that the global elderly care market is predicted to be worth $2.4tn (£2tn) by 2029.
Chris Bischoff, healthcare investment, General Catalyst, said: “Lottie is this unique hybrid of matchmaker, comparison website and care property specialist.
“Blending smart technology with a dedicated team of care experts, the platform is proving itself to be an indispensable ally in helping families and retirees make easy informed choices about elderly care.”
Bischoff will join Lottie’s board as part of the deal. The investment comes as an extension to the startup’s £2.5m seed round that closed in January this year led by venture capital firm Kindred.
To date, Lottie has raised a total of £9m and has 40 employees.
Former backers of the startup include Monzo founder Tom Blomfield, who led its pre-seed funding round.
Elderly care health tech startup Birdie last month raised £25m for its ‘operating system for care providers’.