AI Health Company Forus Raises $150 Million at a $3 Billion Value

(Bloomberg) -- Healthcare automation startup Forus has raised $150 million at a $3 billion valuation just months after completing a previous funding round. The series C round was led by Bain Capital Ventures, a firm that has invested in the company since its early-stage funding. Accel, Thrive Capital, General Catalyst, Redpoint Ventures, BoxGroup and Pear VC also participated in the round, Forus said Tuesday.

Forus, founded in 2023, uses artificial intelligence to help patients get prescribed drugs more quickly. Its technology handles steps such as navigating insurance coverage, financial assistance and pharmacies after a doctor writes a prescription. The platform is free for providers and patients and uses data from millions of cases to help speed up the process.

"This one of the fastest growing companies across the entire bank Capital Ventures portfolio," said Bain Capital partner Kevin Zhang.

Investors have shown growing interest in AI tools aimed at speeding up patients' access to medicines, with startups Latent raising $80 million in March and Courier Health securing $50 million in April.

Forus had previously announced that it raised more than $160 million in May; the new money brings its funding total to over $300 million.

"We take it as increased conviction from our existing investors and partners in the model, in our traction and how fast we're growing," said Forus Chief Executive Officer Sahir Jaggi in an interview. Jaggi said this funding will be used to build out its technology to keep up with growing customer demand.

Forus not only handles the administrative part of accessing medication, but it also supports life science companies and biopharma by providing drugmakers with information on where patients and doctors run into problems and how medicines perform, Jaggi added.Zhang said that he believes AI will help accelerate the discovery of new medical cures in the coming years. "I think it's critically important that we have this network that works with insurance, doctors, pharma companies and patients to get everybody access to the care they need," said Zhang.