Health insurance startup Oscar Health has secured $165 million in its latest funding round.
The leaders of the latest funding round were Founders Fund and Brian Singerman, a partner at Founders. Notably, two branches of Google’s parent company Alphabet participated in the round: the Capital G growth investment arm and the Verily life sciences segment.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the funding brings Oscar’s valuation to $3.2 billion.
Oscar hopes to edge out its larger competitors in the individual health space, such as UnitedHealth and Aetna, by focusing on technology and customer service. To that end, the company has leveraged its mobile app, which allows customers to book appointments and consult with a physician.
The company’s current CEO, Mario Schlosser, told CNBC that Oscar has the “highest member engagement” of any insurer.
In 2017, the company claimed that it had achieved “gross margin profitability,” following years of losses in the tens of millions of dollars in a number of states.
Oscar projected that, for this year, its medical loss ratio would fall inside the spending target of about 85% of premiums on claims. The company also said that it is on track for $1 billion in gross premium revenue by the end of the year.
The start-up also outlined plans to expand in about four to five cities per year; it also noted that it is expecting to reach 260,000 members this year.
