Virtual care platform, Akira Health, which offers a healthcare app, as well as in-person healthcare clinics, has been acquired by Telus Health. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Akira announced that the acquisition had been finalized in a letter to its customers on August 8. As part of the deal, Akira’s employees and its healthcare providers will officially join the “extended” Telus Health network. The transition is set to happen within the next few months.
“Our commitment to delivering an outstanding patient-first experience will be maintained in the future, as it aligns perfectly with Telus Health.”
The healthtech startup will continue to operate under the Akira brand, and there are no planned changes to its staff, business premises, or operations. Akira, which opened an in-person tech-enabled clinic in Toronto, in April, also stated that it will continue to operate its current clinical and office teams. Moving forward, Telus Health will collaborate with Akira and explore partnership opportunities that will bring mental health and diagnostics to Akira’s virtual care platform. The healthtech company also plans to continue developing its own products.
The acquisition will also give Akira customers access to Telus Health’s offerings, as well as products and solutions for insurers, employees, and employers that will be co-developed by Akira and Telus.
“Akira Health’s mission, strategy, and core philosophy are closely aligned with Telus’ and both companies remain committed to improving patient outcomes and experience,” Akira said in the letter to its customers. “Our commitment to delivering an outstanding patient-first experience will be maintained in the future, as it aligns perfectly with Telus Health’s own Customers First philosophy.”
Akira, founded in 2015, was originally acquired by Right Health in 2017, with the amalgamated company continuing to operate under the Akira brand and platform. At the time Akira’s original co-founders Dustin Walper, Taha Bandukwala, and Matt Zukowski joined the Right Health leadership team, with Right Health co-founders John Mozas and Dan Pawliw becoming Akira’s co-CEOs. Mozas and Pawliw are now listed as Akira’s co-founders, with Zukowski and Bandukwala taking on the roles of CTO and chief medical officer, respectively. Walper has since gone on to found mobile cryptocurrency platform Newton.
Telus Health, which touts itself as Canada’s largest healthcare IT provider, offers a number of virtual care, and healthtech solutions through its own development, as well as acquisitions. In Telus’ Q2 2019 fiscal report, the company attributed part of its revenue growth to “increased Telus Health revenues driven by business acquisitions and expanded services for existing customers.”
In 2018, Telus Health partnered with British digital healthcare service provider Babylon Health to launch a virtual care mobile app specifically designed for the Canadian market. Telus Health has also previously acquired electronic medical records software company Nightingale, web-based prescription technology ZRx Prescriber, and in 2013 made a “significant investment” in Maryland-based Get Real Health.
Image courtesy Akira via LinkedIn