Minneapolis insurance startup Bright Health announced Tuesday that it secured $635 million in an oversubscribed Series D funding round, bringing the company's total equity raised to more than $1 billion.
Bright Health, led by a group of healthcare veterans that includes former UnitedHealthcare CEO Bob Sheehy, has now raised approximately $1.08 billion since it was founded in 2016.
Bright said that it would use the new funding to support its growth and hiring as the company continues to expand across products, geographies and consumer bases. Earlier this year, Bright said that it plans to push into 13 new markets in 2020.
The company started out targeting the individual health-insurance market but has since expanded into the Medicare Advantage area. It partners with a sole healthcare provider in each city it serves to reduce cost.
Bright's $635 million round is likely the largest venture capital raise in Minnesota history. The previous holder of that record? Bright Health. And prior to that? Also Bright Health. In 2017, the company raised $160 million in a round led by Greenspring Associates. And in November 2018, it secured $200 million.
The insurance-tech startup's new round was led by Menlo Park, Calif.-based New Enterprise Associates, a venture capital firm that counts Masterclass, goop, The Wing, Luminary, 23andMe and Salesforce among its portfolio companies.
"This marks NEA's fourth consecutive financing supporting Bright Health, demonstrating our unbridled enthusiastic conviction for this company," Mohamad Makhzoumi, NEA general partner, said in a release.
The following firms also participated in Bright's Series D: Bessemer Venture Partners, Cross Creek Advisors, Declaration Partners, Flare Capital Partners, Greenspring Associates, Meritech Capital, Redpoint Ventures and Town Hall Ventures.
"The Series D funding marks not only a major investment in our company's future but is an affirmation from our existing investors that we have tapped into an unmet consumer demand for a better healthcare experience," Sheehy said in a statement. "Over the past four years, we have seen exceptional interest in our approach to transforming healthcare, which is reflected in our investors' continued capital support, membership growth and geographic expansion year-over-year."
