In 2026, employer healthcare costs are expected to see their largest increase in 15 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This simple statistic<\/a> carries a dizzying assortment of socio-economic and political ramifications: The cost of healthcare has perhaps never been a more agonizing flashpoint in the U.S., at a time when AI is the driving force behind tech and economic growth. And still, where small businesses and their employees fit into this equation is fragile at best.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ty Wang, Angle Health CEO and cofounder, said that while there\u2019s been \u201can explosion of new ways of receiving medical services\u201d like telehealth, digital pharmacies, and chronic disease management programs\u2014these benefits mostly accrue to employees of large tech companies or major white-collar firms.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThese services are still largely inaccessible to the vast majority of Americans,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2019, Wang cofounded Angle Health, an AI-driven healthcare benefits startup, with fellow Palantir alum Anirban Gangopadhyay. Now, Angle has raised a $134 million Series B, consisting of both equity and debt, and led by Portage, Fortune has exclusively learned. The company says it serves more than 2,600 small business employers in 44 states.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been able to very effectively use AI in areas where a human should not be manually administering things that they otherwise would be,\u201d said Gangopadhyay. \u201cWe quote thousands of groups a week. In any other company, you\u2019re getting quoted these PDFs that are 12, 15, 20 pages long. And they\u2019re parsing through these PDFs manually\u2026We\u2019ve fully automated and optimized that process where our underwriters and our sales people are only doing the pieces that we need a human to be doing.\u201d<\/p>\n Small businesses face particular difficulties when providing healthcare, often operating with poor broker support, limited transparency, and no bargaining power.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe SMB market is a large part of the population that is often forgotten,\u201d said Wang. \u201cThere\u2019s absolutely no transparency. There\u2019s very little predictability, and the incumbents are able to gatekeep the data that\u2019s available to them.\u201d<\/p>\n Wang and Gangopadhyay told Fortune that Angle is devoted to transparency, cost stability, and detailed reporting in an effort to improve healthcare experiences and cost surprises. There\u2019s an awareness that this is a systemic problem, albeit one that can be vastly improved (and over time, slowly rebuilt) by technology.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t believe that an insurance company is going to really solve healthcare,\u201d said Gangopadhyay. \u201cWe think that the future of healthcare is a completely redesigned ecosystem that is using AI-first, tech-first products and workflows to really unlock the best care for members.\u201d<\/p>\n See you tomorrow,<\/p>\n Allie Garfinkle Joey Abrams curated the deals section of today\u2019s newsletter.Subscribe here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Venture Deals<\/p>\n – Eon<\/a>, a New York City-based cloud infrastructure company, raised $300 million in Series D funding. EladGil led the round and was joined by SequoiaCapital, LightspeedVenturePartners, and others.<\/p>\n – CurativeHealthInsuranceCompany<\/a>, an Austin, Texas-based employer-sponsored health insurance platform, raised $150 million in Series B funding. UpsideVisionFund led the round and was joined by others.<\/p>\n – AxiadoCorporation<\/a>, a San Jose, Calif.-based provider of security and management solutions for AI data centers, raised $100 million in Series C+ funding. MaverickSilicon led the round and was joined by Prosperity7Ventures, OrbitVenturePartners, CrosslinkCapital, Nosterra Ventures, and others.<\/p>\n – Antares<\/a>, a Los Angeles, Calif.-based developer of advanced nuclear microreactors, raised $96 million in Series B funding. ShineCapital led the round and was joined by AltCapital, Caffeinated, FiftyThreeStations, Industrious, and others.<\/p>\n – Zafran Security<\/a>, a New York City-based AI-powered threat exposure management platform, raised $60 million in Series C funding. MenloVentures led the round.<\/p>\n – TitanOS<\/a>, a Barcelona, Spain-based television operating system, raised \u20ac50 million ($58.1 million) in Series A funding. HighlandEurope led the round and was joined by MangroveCapitalPartners and others.<\/p>\n – PermitFlow<\/a>, a New York City-based AI-powered permit application and management platform for builders, raised $54 million in Series B funding. Accel led the round and was joined by KleinerPerkins, Felicis, InitializedCapital, AltosVentures, YCombinator, and existing investors.<\/p>\n – CloverSecurity<\/a>, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based product security company, raised $36 million in funding. NotableCapital and Team8 led the round and were joined by SVCI.<\/p>\n – RippleFoods<\/a>, a Berkeley, Calif.-based producer of high-protein, allergen-free plant-based milks, raised $17 million in funding from MaterialImpact, RichProductsVentures, and existing investors.<\/p>\n – UnlimitedIndustries<\/a>, a San Francisco-based AI platform for construction, raised $12 million in seed funding. AndreessenHorowitz and CIV led the round and were joined by others.<\/p>\n – TrialLibrary<\/a>, a San Francisco-based platform that connects patients to clinical trials, raised $10 million in Series A funding. SemperVirensVentureCapital and NextVentures led the round and were joined by SanofiVentures, Lux Capital, and others.<\/p>\n – Clipbook<\/a>, a Washington, D.C.-based AI platform designed for tracking for communications and public affairs teams, raised $3.3 million in seed funding. MarkCuban, CommonwealVentures, and CarpenterCapital.<\/p>\n – Ascentra Labs<\/a>, a London, U.K.-based AI platform designed for consultants, raised $2 million in seed funding. NAP led the round and was joined by angel investors.<\/p>\n Private Equity<\/p>\n – Encore, backed by Blackstone, acquired FIRST<\/a>, a New York City-based event marketing and brand experience company. Financial terms were not disclosed.\u00a0<\/p>\n – GIPartners agreed to acquire DigitaGroup<\/a>, a Helsinki, Finland-based tower company. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/p>\n
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Email:alexandra.garfinkle@fortune.com<\/a>
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