Introducing Transcarent
In January 2022, Kinnevik was pleased to lead a USD 200m funding round in Transcarent, a company led by Glen Tullman, the Founder and former Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Livongo, one of Kinnevik’s first healthcare investments. Read the interview with Glen, or watch his discussion with our Investment Manager Christian Scherrer below.
Glen, what did you learn during the Livongo days that culminated in you starting Transcarent and how is Transcarent serving those needs?
At Livongo, we learned that empowering consumers, with unbiased information, with trusted guidance and with easy access to high quality
care are the factors that really mattered to create an experience that consumers love. And when you do that, what you get is better results and
ultimately the ability to transform healthcare. That's what we found both at Livongo and now at Transcarent. There is such high demand for driving
transformation in healthcare at this point in time.
For 20 years, there's been a promise that payers would make healthcare less complex, less confusing and less costly. And the reality is that payers have failed. Healthcare costs kept rising, patients are overwhelmed and confused, and it's getting worse. What we have seen is that employers have come around to the idea of value based care. They want a solution that they believe is aligned with their own objectives: They want to provide a quality experience to their employees; they want to have healthier employees; and last but not least, at an affordable cost. We think now is the time for Transcarent and that's what the market is telling us. The early results show us that demand is accelerating at a rate more rapidly than Livongo did, which is really encouraging.
"The early results show us that demand is accelerating at a rate more rapidly than Livongo did."
We're so honoured to back you a second time, Glen. And we'd love to know why you decided to join up with us again?
One of the reasons is that we had a great relationship already. There is also a great fit in values and Kinnevik’s commitment to ESG means a lot to us. It is important to have investors who really understand the value, the culture, the vision and the mission of the company. We think Kinnevik does that very well.
Where do you see Transcarent in five years' time?
We are just at the beginning, but we are also at the tipping point. When we talk about growth at Transcarent it is about getting more and more people access to our services. It means giving people access to the information and
guidance they need to make better decisions and making it easy for them to get care - if and when they need it. That's also means eliminating inappropriate care which is a large cost driver in itself. I am also very proud of how Transcarent reduces inequality in healthcare in the companies
that we work with, and I know that aligns with your values at Kinnevik. If you're the janitor, if you're a truck driver, if you're working in a store or you're the CEO, and you need surgery, you get exactly the same care
from Transcarent. There are no co-pays, there's no co-insurance, there's no friction, there's no billing. We make sure that you need the care, we get
you a second opinion for the care and then we get the care delivered. And the individual is put in charge with the option of where he or she wants that care delivered. Equal treatment and access are both a growth factor and a social equity factor. And that's what makes us different at Transcarent: a focus on quality, a focus on delivering care, and last but not least: doing it cost effectively.