Cigna launches fund for innovative healthcare companies
Global health service company Cigna has announced that it has launched a corporate venture fund that is focused on transformative and innovative healthcare companies. Cigna said that the venture fund, called Cigna Ventures, will invest in promising startups and growth-stage companies that are unlocking new growth possibilities in healthcare and will bring improved care quality, affordability, choice, and greater simplicity to customers and clients. It focuses on companies across three strategic areas: insights and analytics; digital health and retail; and care delivery/management.
It was created to help Cigna identify, assess and sponsor early-stage innovation ideas that warrant deeper exploration through focused pilot and test-and-learn activities in order to realise meaningful business value. “Cigna’s commitment to improving the health, wellbeing and sense of security of the people we serve is at the front and centre of everything we do,” said Tom Richards, Senior Vice-President and Global Lead, Strategy and Business Development at Cigna. “The venture fund will enable us to drive innovation beyond our existing core business operations, and incubate new ideas, opportunities and relationships that have the potential for long-term business growth and to help our customers.”
Sean Duffy, Co-Founder and CEO of Omada, a company Cigna has worked with in existing venture activity, said: “Our partnership with Cigna has been about so much more than capital. The ability to collaborate with, learn from, and integrate deeply with a health services company so dedicated to delivering a 21st-Century care experience to its customers and clients has enabled us to accelerate innovation, advance our capabilities, and grow our customer base.”