Update: This story now includes comments from the CEO and more specifics about the seed round.
Green Feather, a healthcare financial technology startup that spun off of Ally Commerce Inc., raised a $1.5 million seed round.
Ciena Corp. Co-Founder Lawrence Huang, who's also executive chairman of Green Feather, led the round. Med-Metrix CEO Joseph Davi and Chosen Payments Founder Jeff Brodsly participated. A May 21 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says the round includes nine investors.
The Atlanta-based startup officially launched in April 2020 to provide more flexible payment options for healthcare patients through its platform, Feather Pay.
Feather Pay aggregates third-party legacy and innovative payment options so patients can choose how to cover their out-of-pocket healthcare costs.
CEO Craig Haynor said the platform adds transparency to the healthcare payments industry and helps patients pay for their treatments more efficiently by finding the best option for them. Feather Pay also helps healthcare providers manage the different payments on one platform.
The idea for Green Feather began through an Ally Commerce partnership with a healthcare company, which Haynor said provided insight into this specific problem.
Ally Commerce, which has support from the United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) and is led by Haynor, helps brand manufacturers complete consumer sales through e-commerce and other software strategies, according to its website.
Ally Commerce does not its own payments infrastructure. The Feather Pay platform was built specifically for healthcare providers. Haynor said the Green Feather spinoff has customers and is talking with other software companies to integrate into different platforms.
Green Feather has about 14 employees, many of whom also work for Ally Commerce, Haynor said. Ally Commerce has 10 employees not working on Green Feather.
Haynor took over as CEO of Ally Commerce in 2019. Before that, Jason Rubottom led the team, which presented at Venture Atlanta in 2017. The next year, Ally Commerce was listed as the No. 39 fastest-growing private company by the Atlanta Business Chronicle and inducted into Metro Atlanta Chamber’s Backed by ATL program for high-growth potential companies. Since then, the startup has been relatively quiet.
