The fastest-growing private company in Silicon Valley is looking at opening a facility in Greater Cincinnati.
Truepill Inc., a digital health and pharmacy startup, received approval for a more than 1.48%, eight-year Job Creation Tax Credit from the Ohio Tax Credit Authority Monday for the creation of more than $6.2 million in new annual payroll. The estimated value of the tax credit, which is performance-based, is $685,000.
Truepill ranked as the No. 1 private company for growth last year, according to Business Courier sister publication Silicon Valley Business Journal.
Officials with Truepill did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Truepill, like many other telehealth startups, saw a huge uptick in interest from investors as the coronavirus pandemic fuels the accelerated adoption of virtual health care. The company started as a virtual pharmacy for consumer-facing health companies and has grown its platform to include access to a telehealth provides and at-home testing.
Truepill doesn’t provide any health care services directly to patients, instead serving as a health care infrastructure company that is building a one-stop-shop virtual health platform for enterprise customers.
Ohio is competing with Indiana for the proposed project, according to a scope of work document from the Ohio Development Services Agency. “State support will help ensure the proposed project moves forward in Ohio,” the document states.
The proposed project, which would be located in Sharonville, would establish a central pharmaceutical fulfillment facility. Truepill is headquartered in San Mateo, Calif. As part of the tax credit agreement, the authority requires the company to maintain operations at the project location for at least 11 years.
As part of the proposed Sharonville project, Truepill is looking to create 120 new jobs by the end of 2024. The new positions are expected to generate new annual payroll of $6.24 million. That breaks down to an average of $52,000 per position.
According to Ohio Development Services Agency, Sharonville has expressed support for Truepill’s proposed project with a letter dated Aug. 3.
Umar Afridi and Sid Viswanathan co-founded Truepill in 2016 after meeting on LinkedIn and instantly aligning over their passion for innovation. Afridi, a trained pharmacist, shared the pain points he experienced working in the industry, including manual processes and archaic technologies that led to a high-stress work environment for pharmacists, and long lines and fulfillment delays for patients. Viswanathan, a leader in product management, knew there were better solutions possible. They teamed up and reached out to various healthcare insiders to gather insights, and they soon concluded that the pharmacy industry was ripe for a technological revolution.
Since 2017, Truepill has closed on three rounds of funding, bringing its total funding to $114 million, as of November 2020. Its growth rate hit 1,698%, with 2017 revenue at nearly $4.5 million and 2019 revenue hitting more than $80.2 million.
The Truepill project was one of eight that received approval of assistance to create a total of 1,105 jobs and retain 912 jobs statewide and the only project in Southwest Ohio. The projects are expected to result in more than $57 million in new payroll and spur more than $281 million in investments across Ohio.
