Toronto-based League has raised $62 million in a Series B round led by TELUS Ventures.
The round included participation from Wittington Ventures, OMERS, Infinite Potential Group, RBC Ventures, Real Ventures, and BDC Ventures.
“Employers experiencing the war for talent, skyrocketing healthcare costs, and the mental health epidemic are rapidly recognizing that a new approach to benefits will give them a competitive advantage,” said Mike Serbinis, League founder and CEO. “Health benefits represent a tremendous opportunity to improve the lives and health outcomes for employees, but they’re not currently driving the business value employers should expect from their investment. League gives them greater control over their spend while delivering an unparalleled employee experience that maximizes both health and productivity.”
The funding will be used to open offices in San Francisco, New York, and London.
In choosing these investors, the company said that it was inspired by the recent Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JP Morgan health partnership; while details on how that partnership will work still aren’t clear, the retail giant is teaming up with the multinationals to launch a healthcare focused on providing better healthcare for employees at a lower cost in the US, according to the New York Times.
For its part, League launched in 2014 when Serbinis had similar sentiments about employee health benefits. The company kicked off its US expansion last year with plans to raise $100 million in funding (Serbinis then walked this plan back in February, claiming that $100 million was more than the company needed). Mobile giant TELUS has its own healthtech arm, TELUS Health, which offers solutions targeted to pharmacies for day-to-day management and electronic health and medical records. Wittington Ventures is part of the George Weston Limited group of companies, which includes Shoppers Drug Mart, while RBC Ventures is the arm of one of Canada’s big five banks dedicated to co-creating and supporting ventures both inside and outside FinTech.
The funding will be used to open offices in San Francisco, New York, and London. League is also licensed to operate in all 50 states, and next year, will look at the EU and the UK.
The company notes some of the ways it’s grown its benefits cloud and platform following its launch, including chat-based access to nurses following a partnership with fellow Power Financial portfolio company Dialogue; a digital wallet that can be customized to each employer’s needs; and behaviour-based health rewards. League has also added insurance partners like RBCI, AETNA, Humana, Cigna, United Healthcare, and MetLife as insurance partners, allowing it to offer fully insured plans (RBC was its first insurance partner in 2016, allowing it to underwrite offerings like life insurance).
“We believe that innovative companies like League — which deliver compelling, consumer-centric experiences — will not only drive high employee and employer engagement, but will also deliver fundamental improvements in health outcomes for Canadians through their carrier-friendly open platform,” said Rich Osborn, managing partner of TELUS Ventures. “I’m pleased to support the League team as a new board member and add the company to our venture portfolio alongside others innovating in virtual care, mental health, personal health records, wellness, and population health management.”