Bertelsmann Investments acquires a stake in Doccla
Capital to be used for expansion in Europe with focus on Germany
Start-up technology reduces healthcare costs by up to a third
Bertelsmann Investments (BI) is investing €5 million in the start-up Doccla, Europe’s leading provider of virtual hospital platforms for telemonitoring. Doccla’s technology enables effective, uncomplicated remote medical monitoring of patients in their home environment, carried out by medical professionals. Patients receive a customized ‘Doccla box’ containing a pre-configured tablet and medical measurement devices that measure heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, blood oxygen levels, blood pressure and a range of other vital signs as required.
Bertelsmann Investments CEO Carsten Coesfeld says: “With Doccla’s innovation, everyone involved wins. Patients can go home earlier, hospitals have more beds available, and health insurers see a reduction in healthcare costs. Doccla is the right investment decision for us: The track record in the U.K. is convincing, and we are delighted to support the team around the founders Dag Larsson and Martin Ratz with their expansion in Europe. Together, we have already successfully initiated the start in Germany.”
Coesfeld continues: “Within Bertelsmann Investments, the Bertelsmann Next unit focuses its investments on the fast-growing digital health sector. We see great opportunities for the digital healthcare market overall and have invested 90 million Euro in the market since last year.”
Tim Schneider, Investment Manager Bertelsmann Investments – Digital Health, adds: “Remote patient monitoring is already successful and has a proven track record of delivering a range of benefits to healthcare providers and patients around the world. We are deeply impressed by Doccla’s achievements in the U.K., where the company has demonstrated that it can reduce healthcare costs by up to a third while improving patient care. Although healthcare systems differ in Germany and other parts of Europe, we believe that virtual hospital platforms will become a fundamental part of future treatments across Europe. The potential for significant cost reductions and improved patient outcomes is undeniable.”
Doccla CEO Dag Larsson says: “We are very proud to have Bertelsmann Investments with us on our journey to bring remote patient monitoring to as wide a patient base as possible. Doccla is scaling rapidly and in order to bolster our position as Europe’s virtual hospital, we require the best people in our corner. Bertelsmann Investments’ deep industrial expertise and remarkable team make them an ideal partner for the next chapter in the Doccla journey. Our European expansion will bring virtual wards – and their benefits – to a whole new level.”
Doccla was founded in the U.K. during the pandemic, and was created following the heart attack of its founder Martin Ratz, who recognized the great benefits of virtual hospital platforms and telemonitoring for patients and healthcare systems. The expansion into the German market is being led by Stefan Zundel, General Manager DACH Region at Doccla, and his team: “In view of the cost pressure and staff shortages that are already a reality, telemonitoring will become standard care in Germany in the near future.”
About Bertelsmann Investments
Bertelsmann Investments (BI) comprises Bertelsmann’s global venture capital activities as well as the Bertelsmann Next growth unit. The venture capital arm includes the Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI), Bertelsmann India Investments (BII) and Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI) funds, as well as selected fund and direct holdings in markets including Europe, the United States, Brazil, Southeast Asia and Africa. The Bertelsmann Next unit advances the entrepreneurial development of new growth sectors and business areas, including digital health, mobile gaming and HR Tech. To date, around €1.7 billion has been invested in more than 400 innovative companies and funds through Bertelsmann Investments. Bertelsmann Investments currently holds over 300 active investments worldwide through its network of start-ups and funds.
About Doccla
Doccla is the UK’s leading virtual ward company. We partner with hospitals to enable early discharge and reduced readmission across a wide range of patient groups. Our end to end solution is device agnostic, integrates with local systems, and delivers data driven insights. As an accredited healthcare operator, we provide additional clinical capacity – not just technology – to reduce hospital workload. Our virtual ward service is a market leader in patient compliance and satisfaction. Doccla investors include international VC General Catalyst (backers of industry leaders such as Airbnb, Deliveroo, Monzo, and Stripe), KHP Ventures (a collaboration between King’s College London, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust), Giant Ventures, and Speedinvest.
In August 2023, Doccla acquired the medically certified cloud-based platform OpenTeleHealth , which immediately expanded Doccla’s global presence, meaning the company now has clients in 13 countries (10 in Europe), with almost 10,000 patients under active monitoring.
