Healthtech startup AVIA raises $22 million in new funding to boost service expansion

AVIA, a healthtech startup and partner for digital health insights, strategic guidance, and consulting services, has raised $22 million to enables AVIA to expand its coverage of new digital topical areas, services and markets. The round was led by First Trust Capital Partners, with participation from other strategic investors including Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, and Ziegler, an investment bank with deep healthcare industry knowledge.

Founded in 2013 by Eric Langshur and Ted Meisel, the Chicago-based startup has more than 50 large health systems as members, from Houston Methodist and Detroit’s Henry Ford to OSF, Northwestern Medicine and Rush University Medical Center locally. AVIA helps hospitals and health systems to identify, select and deploy the best emerging IT-enabled solutions to drive growth, improve operating efficiency and compete on value. AVIA facilitates collaboration between providers and entrepreneurs to accelerate the impact and to mitigate the risk of innovation adoption.

“Digital technologies have transformed nearly every other industry, resulting in massive value creation, increased competitive intensity, and greater disparity between winners and losers. The installation of electronic medical record systems over the last decade represents just the first step in digital’s impact on healthcare. As the digital disruption of healthcare accelerates over the coming decade, we see big opportunities but equally big risks for incumbent healthcare providers,” says Eric Langshur, Co-founder and CEO of AVIA.

In conjunction with the funding, AVIA also announced the addition of two healthcare industry veterans to its board of directors: Jon Phillips, Managing Director and Head of Private Equity at First Trust Capital Partners, LLC, and Darren Dworkin, Senior Vice President of Enterprise Information Services and Chief Information Officer at Cedars-Sinai.

“The board-level conversation at most health systems now centers around building specific strategies and action plans to bring the organization’s digitally enabled future to life,” says Langshur. “This investment of capital comes at a time when our clients – and the healthcare industry at-large – are asking for proven solutions to support new care models, improve access, accelerate efficiency, and achieve better health outcomes. AVIA recognizes that need, and with the expansion in our service model, we’re ready to help propel the industry forward.”

“To truly improve quality, affordability and access, we need to accelerate practical digital solutions for providers, patients, and consumers,” says Aaron Martin, Chief Digital Officer of Providence, an AVIA investor and member since 2013. “AVIA’s unique business and service model helps us extend our efforts in digital transformation in order to deliver our Mission and serve our communities.”