SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alliance Health Networks, a leading developer of condition-specific social networks, today announced it raised $11 million in its latest round of funding, led by New World Ventures along with participation from new investor, Physic Ventures. Existing investors, Highway 12 Ventures and Epic Ventures, also joined the round.
“Alliance Health has built a world-class social networking experience for consumers seeking support and guidance,” said Adam Koopersmith, a partner with New World Ventures. “This funding allows Alliance Health to extend its value proposition to more stakeholders, yielding better outcomes for more consumers, while delivering greater value to healthcare industry participants.”
Since 2006, Alliance Health has focused on building a scalable technology platform to support a wide array of health-related social networks, each focused on specific health interests. The company owns and operates 37 social networks and has more than 750,000 registered members. Its flagship site, Diabetic Connect, is the world’s largest social network for people affected by diabetes.
The funding will accelerate the expansion of Alliance Health’s current portfolio of social networks and the growth of its mobile platform. It will also fund enhancements to its online tools and support the expansion of the company’s New York office. Alliance Health’s sites enable patients and caregivers to form relationships, engage in conversations, share treatments and comment on services and products. The company has released eight mobile versions on the Apple iOS platform, extending these features to users accessing social networks from their smartphones.
“A growing number of consumers are going online to find people who share their health concerns,” said Stead Burwell, chief executive officer for Alliance Health. “By expanding our reach into more disease areas and building out our mobile footprint, we will be able to extend our unique approach to help more consumers connect with supportive peers and with the personalized information they need to navigate an increasingly complex and fragmented healthcare system.”
“We were attracted to Alliance Health because they are helping to create and foster a culture of consumer-directed health and wellness,” said Andy Donner, a director at Physic Ventures in San Francisco. “We target companies that are capitalizing on the major trends shaping personal and planetary health and we see Alliance Health as a significant contributor to this movement.”
Morgan Keegan served as financial advisor to Alliance Health Networks. O’Melveny & Meyers, LLP served as legal counsel. Adam Koopersmith of New World Ventures and Andy Donner of Physic Ventures will join Alliance Health’s board of directors.
About Alliance Health Networks
Alliance Health Networks is an innovative social networking company whose mission is to improve health outcomes, lower costs and facilitate a more consumer-centric healthcare industry. The company owns and operates a growing portfolio of distinct social networking sites that today serve 750,000 registered members across 37 health conditions. Investors in Alliance Health Networks include New World Ventures, Physic Ventures, Highway 12 Ventures and EPIC Ventures. For more information, visit www.AllianceHealth.com.
About New World Ventures
New World Ventures, closely affiliated with The Pritzker Group, is a multi-stage venture capital firm helping entrepreneurs and management teams build market-leading, world class information technology companies. Although we maintain a broad, opportunistic approach to our sector interest, current areas of focus include next-generation commerce platforms, enterprise applications, interactive health, social and mobile applications and services, and intelligent energy systems. Our dedication to active investing combined with our commitment to long-term business building has helped our companies achieve outstanding success. Among these recent exits are Playdom (sold to Disney), LeftHand Networks (sold to Hewlett-Packard) and TicketsNow (sold to Ticketmaster). For more information visit, www.newworldvc.com.
About Physic Ventures
Physic Ventures is the first venture capital firm dedicated to investing in consumer-driven health and sustainable living. The firm provides capital and support to entrepreneurs focused on building exceptional science-based, consumer-directed health and sustainable living companies. Its approach capitalizes on major economic, social and political trends shaping the rapidly evolving landscape of personal and planetary health. For more information visit, www.physicventures.com.
About Highway 12 Ventures
Highway 12 Ventures is a leading early-stage VC fund investing in high-growth, entrepreneurial companies in the Intermountain West. With over $100 million under management, it is Idaho’s largest venture capital firm. Highway 12 Ventures is part of the Village Ventures nationwide network of venture capital funds. For more information visit, www.highway12ventures.com.
About EPIC Ventures
EPIC Ventures, founded by Zions Bank, is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. EPIC’s philosophy is to search out best-of-breed technologies and invest in those companies with the management and market to achieve explosive growth. EPIC looks to back visionaries and proven leaders with its capital, time, and resources. For more information visit, www.epicvc.com.