Australia: Airtree Ventures backs $3.6m Series B in healthtech firm HotDoc

By Mars W. Mosqueda Jr.

September 4, 2018

Australia-based venture capital firm AirTree Ventures has joined new and existing investors in backing the A$5 million ($3.6-million) Series B funding round in Australian online appointment booking and healthcare software platform HotDoc.

HotDoc, founded in 2012, operates a patient engagement platform that claims to streamline patient-doctor communication. It has over 9,000 general practitioners and 1,500 medical centres on its platform.

Its products include online bookings, automated recalls and reminders, patient check-in via mobile and touchscreen kiosk, online processing of repeat prescription requests, and Inform (a tool designed to prompt patients to take a proactive interest in preventive health and chronic disease management).

The firm claims to have booked seven million appointments via its platform.

Proceeds from the funding round, which was led by investment firm Right Click Capital, will be used to finance the company’s efforts “to become a market leader”, further develop its product offering, and scale the company’s operations in Australia, HotDoc said in a statement.

Dr Ben Hurst, Founder and CEO of HotDoc, believes patient engagement has the potential to impact clinical outcomes and keep patients out of hospital. Hurst was an emergency resident and psychiatry registrar at hospitals in Melbourne prior to founding HotDoc.

“While today it’s about providing online appointments and automated recalls, in the future it will be about digital therapies, individualised health coaching, and collaborative treatment plans,” said Dr Ben Hurst, founder and CEO of HotDoc.

HotDoc is Right Click Capital’s third healthtech investment in Australia. Its Growth Fund invests in early-stage, high growth technology businesses in the Asia-Pacific region.

“HotDoc is solving a real problem that nearly every Australian can relate to, deepening the doctor/patient relationship. We believe the platform will support healthcare professionals to more effectively engage patients and impact health outcomes for the better,” said Right Click Capital Partner Ari Klinger.

The investment was not a first for AirTree Ventures in HotDoc, having led the firm’s A$2.2 million ($1.6 million) Series A round in 2015. The VC firm invests in disruptive software companies that are reshaping traditional industries at seed and growth stage.

In 2016, AirTree Ventures closed a venture fund with a corpus of A$250 million, making it the largest venture capital fund in Australia at that time.

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In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

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  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
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