A Tampa healthtech startup spent recent years quietly building.
In that time, GroundGame.Health doubled its annual revenue and grew its employee count to hundreds. At the end of April, it raised $17 million in a funding round, boosting the company beyond the Series A funding stage. Then, it closed a deal to bring California firm SameSky Health on board.
The capital raise is the second largest disclosed funding round in Tampa Bay for 2024.
“There’s a lot to be done basically everywhere, and because we’ve got such a commitment to Tampa, we think there are ways we can build upon that here locally,” said Susan Rawlings Molina, the CEO of GroundGame.Health.
Chicago-based health care venture firm 7wireVentures led the funding round alongside participating investors like Indiana-based health insurance firm Elevance. The new capital enabled GroundGame.Health to acquire SameSky Health, a digital healthtech firm for bridging language and culture gaps in patient care.
“Our shared vision of combining sensitive, purpose-built technology with trusted human relationships positions us to help even the most challenging-to-reach populations,” Abner Mason, previously the CEO and founder of SameSky Health, said in a statement.
With the merger, Mason became the chief strategy and transformation officer of GroundGame.Health.
Rawlings said the merger — legally considered an acquisition of SameSky — serves a few goals. It brought on new customers, expanded the product suite and added new employees.
“We got a lot of acceleration to our business quickly because of that,” Rawlings said. “Acceleration of growth, acceleration of product and acceleration of people, so from a pure business standpoint, it’s a great combination. We’ve been together now for about a month, and it’s coming together pretty nicely.”
Rawlings, a longtime health care executive, had worked alongside and often explored startups with her business partner, Sri Akula, now GroundGame.Health’s president. They first discovered the GroundGame.Health platform when it was based in Indiana. They began working with the team in 2020, eventually establishing the initial $5 million investment that led to the duo’s acquisition of the company in 2022, Rawlings said.
GroundGame.Health is a tech-enabled service platform providing specialized care and support for hard-to-reach patients through community organizations and health plans, such as coordinating the construction of a ramp for a disabled individual. The platform is a means to break down social barriers to caretaking, Rawlings said.
With the raise, GroundGame. Health’s presence and engagement will grow in Tampa and nationally. Rawlings has already participated in entrepreneurial events in Tampa, such as a health tech panel at Embarc Collective.
Currently, 47 GroundGame.Health employees work at a corporate office and headquarters at 5660 W. Cypress St. in Tampa. There are over 300 GroundGame.Health employees nationally, and the company was profitable in 2023, Rawlings said.
GroundGame.Health also plans to move its corporate headquarters in Tampa to a larger space at the Westwood Center on North Lois Avenue.
Startups — especially early-stage companies in non-traditional tech hubs — have struggled to raise venture capital because of the market downturn continuing in 2024, and Rawlings said she doesn’t take the recent raise for granted. Tampa automation platform Rewst is the only startup in Tampa to publicly raise more venture capital in 2024.
But the tightening market or its Tampa headquarters haven’t limited GroundGame.Health’s ability to raise money.
“Because we operate nationally and have created a solid foundation as our base and a successful business here — attracting capital out of New York, Chicago or California, I don’t think it’s an issue,” Rawlings said.
