Healthtech startup Cedar raises $102M in Series C funding led by Andreessen Horowitz to accelerate growth of its patient payment and engagement platform

Cedar, a New York City-based healthtech startup and a provider of patient payment and engagement platform for hospitals, health systems and medical groups, today announced it has closed more than $102M in Series C funding, led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The deal includes $77M in venture capital and $25M from JP Morgan in venture debt. In conjunction with the funding, Cedar also announced it has partnered with Novant Health, a leading North Carolina-based healthcare system, to deliver an innovative, personalized financial experience for Novant Health patients.

Founded in 2016 by Arel Lidow and Florian Otto, Cedar is a patient payment and engagement platform for hospitals, health systems and medical groups that elevates the end-to-end patient experience. The platform leverages advanced data science to customize and simplify the payment experience, resulting in a modern, consumer-friendly way for patients to plan for and pay their bills. Cedar is PCI and HIPAA compliant, and HITRUST certified. Novant Health and Cedar expect to roll-out the new engagement and billing platform before the end of 2020.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on many of the inefficiencies and archaic processes across our current healthcare system which has, in turn, driven an increase in the adoption of platforms like Cedar’s among healthcare providers,” said Florian Otto, CEO and co-founder of Cedar.

“Through this round of funding and our new partnership with Novant Health, Cedar’s patient engagement and payment technology platform will be able to offer an improved experience for more patients with simplified and personalized digital engagement strategies and payment support options. We’re very pleased with this strong show of support from our investors and partners and look forward to further enhancing our platform for patients and providers.”

To support Cedar’s rapid growth, the latest round of funding will be used to invest in expanding the company’s reach and to accelerate product innovation and expansion. Other participants in the fundraising round include Kaiser Permanente and individual angel investors including Jerod Mayo, linebacker coach for the New England Patriots and Jeff Vacirca, MD, FACP and CEO of New York Cancer & Blood Specialists, as well as Cedar’s current investors including Kinnevik, Thrive Capital, Lakestar and Founders Fund. Andreessen Horowitz Managing Partner Scott Kupor will join Cedar’s board of directors. This round brings Cedar’s total capital raise to $157M to date.

“Cedar’s leadership team brings together medical, healthcare technology and deep software expertise that puts them in a unique position to drastically transform the way patients interact with healthcare providers,” said Kupor. “We’ve been extremely impressed by the patient payment solutions they’ve built and look forward to partnering to help them deliver on their mission to allow healthcare providers to understand and engage with patients more effectively.”

This past year, and even more so since the global COVID-19 pandemic, Cedar has expanded rapidly with innovative partnerships and collaborations with institutions like Novant Health, seeking to improve patient satisfaction and financial results, so they can continue to deliver the highest standards of care. Novant will roll out Cedar’s patient engagement and payment technology platform to modernize the payment experience for its patients across the network. Novant Health’s partnership with Cedar will also advance and accelerate key innovation initiatives that extend further into pre-visit patient digital engagement.

“At Novant Health, we are always looking at how we can implement new technology to create a world-class consumer experience for our patients,” said Geoffrey Gardner, senior vice president of operational finance and revenue cycle at Novant Health. “By selecting Cedar as an innovation partner to transform our payment process, we are committed to using technology to make health care costs and billing more understandable, personalized and convenient.”