London-based software platform for elderly care Birdie has picked up $30m in Series B funding as it set its sights on European expansion. 

What does Birdie do?

Birdie was founded in 2017 and provides elderly care agencies with a software platform that helps them to plan visits, and monitor and store key information about patients that are living at home. Through the startup’s app, carers can check in and out of visits, create care plans, get prompted on tasks that need doing and log details about a patient for the next carer. Birdie currently works with more than 700 care providers, up from 500 a year ago.

Who’s investing in Birdie?

• Belgian growth-stage VC Sofina led the round.
• Canada’s multi-stage OMERS Ventures also participated.
• As did transatlantic VC firm Index Ventures, in a follow-on round after it led the startup’s Series A last year.

The care market

• While startups focusing on elderly care have taken a little longer to capture investors’ interest (and cash) than other verticals in digital health, they’re beginning to pick up funding.
• Earlier this month, care home staffing app Florence raised £28.5m in a round led by corporate venture fund Axa Venture Partners, which came hot on the heels of a solid May for healthtech startups focused on elderly care.
• Last month, Paris-based elderly care platform Ouihelp raised €30m, Finland’s Helppy raised €3m and Berlin-based Patronus raised $7m.

What’s next

• Birdie tells Sifted it has already signed new partners in Spain and is in advanced conversations with partners in Ireland.
• It is also looking to expand its footprint into France, Germany and the Nordics.

Sifted’s take

Elderly care is one of the last healthcare sectors to get a tech makeover from startups in Europe, but the market is huge. By 2050, the number of people in Europe aged 65 and over will increase by half to make up nearly 30% of the total population.

Investors are just beginning to wise up to the opportunity, and they’ve put pen to paper on a number of deals in the sector recently. But, while startups like Birdie which have raised big in the last few months are well placed to power through the looming economic downturn, it could become more difficult for newer startups on the scene to raise the cash needed to scale. 

Kai Nicol-Schwarz is a reporter at Sifted. He covers healthtech and community reporting, and tweets from @NicolSchwarzK.