SWORD Health, a virtual and digital physical therapy provider, has announced its Series D round with $163M, bringing its value to $2 billion. This round brings the total primary and secondary investments to more than $320M funded in SWORD Health, with the current valuation at $1.8B, launching it to healthtech unicorn status. The primary funding round of $163M was highly oversubscribed, resulting in investors purchasing an additional $26M in a secondary transaction which propelled the valuation to $2B. SWORD Health plans to use the funds to develop more personalized musculoskeletal physical therapy offerings, including preventative therapy and post-surgical care, among other initiatives.
Leading this round of funding is Sapphire Ventures, a leading global technology-focused venture capital firm with participation from new investors Sozo Ventures, Willoughby Capital, ADQ, and Localglobe, and from all significant investors including General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund, Bond, Transformation Capital, and Green Innovations.
The MSK Market
SWORD Health first rolled out commercially in January 2020. It employs about 60 doctors of physical therapy. The organization provides services to employers who offer them as a benefit to their employees. Its more than 150 client companies include PepsiCo Inc. and Danaher Corp. SWORD Health’s biggest competitor is Hinge Health, which closed a funding round at a $6.2 billion valuation in October. Sword is one of several digital health companies looking to provide virtual care for musculoskeletal conditions.
It promotes its physical therapists and the range of conditions that it covers beyond back pain to distinguish itself from competitors. Sword Health says it has a 74% win rate against its direct competitor in requests for proposals.
SWORD recently launched a complete end-to-end clinical solution – SWORD+ – with three fundamental features.
- ASK a PT™ is a 24/7 solution connecting members with physical therapists to answer general questions about physical pain.
- Digital Guardian™ applies wearable and video motion capture components to monitor and correct unsafe movements to prevent workplace injury.
- The Academy is a unique blend of Masterclass and customized educational content.
Along with its existing hallmark solution, the Digital Therapist™, these features have established SWORD as the most innovative and personalized digital MSK program today.
As recent studies have shown, patients have been steadily moving toward a desire for more digital communication and ongoing connection with healthcare providers. SWORD Health has experienced exponential growth over the last 18 months. Three out of four employers that conducted head-to-head evaluations among MSK solutions have selected SWORD. They have cited various reasons: 100% of its services are rendered by Doctors of Physical Therapy (DPT), an FDA-listed device that provides clinical data to DPTs to personalize the member journey, and third-party validation for clinical results and savings.
Confidence in digital health technologies’ and tools’ potential continues to progress as health systems continue to invest in a more digital health care experience – focusing on connecting with, communicating with, and monitoring patients outside the health system’s walls. In the era of digital technology, consumerism in healthcare means patients demand the same kind of seamless digital experience they get when dealing with other service-oriented industries.
SWORD Health’s approach to resolving MSK disorders is truly differentiated. Their unique PT + Digital Therapist model which includes an FDA listed device has gained significant market acceptance evidenced by their 12x customer growth. Through our market and customer work, we found that SWORD is providing tangible clinical outcomes to drive healthier, happier lives for individuals, and meaningful cost-savings for customers – a winning approach. Most of all, we are thrilled to partner with Virgilio, one of the hardest working and passionate founders we’ve encountered.
Rajeev Dham, Partner at Sapphire Ventures
The first virtual musculoskeletal company to reduce costs while delivering superior clinical outcomes has achieved a 20x valuation growth in 12 months with an unmatched 12x client growth.
About SWORD Health
SWORD Health, the world’s fastest-growing virtual musculoskeletal (MSK) care provider, is on a mission to free two billion people from physical pain. It delivers 100% of care to members through Doctors of Physical Therapy and the FDA-listed SWORD Health Digital Therapist. SWORD’s personalized care is more effective and less expensive than the traditional gold standard of care and has been third-party validated to deliver best-in-class clinical results.
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