H1A healthcare data analytics platform that serves more than 10 million healthcare professionals in the pharmaceutical industry with data, has acquired Ribbon, a startup that helps patients find doctors supported by their insurance.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The last time Ribbon — founded in 2016 and a Y Combinator alum — raised money was in 2021, when it shut down. $43.5 million Series B valued at $283.5 million, per Pitchbook data.
Many startups that have not secured funding for more than three years are increasingly facing pressure, many becoming acquisition targets or Facing the impending closure. But Arial Katz, co-founder and CEO of H1, told TechCrunch that Ribbon is “not a going-out-of-business company.” H1 is paying a combination of stock and cash to acquire Ribbon, which is generating “more than ten million in revenue,” he added.
Ribbon has raised a total of $55 million from investors that include Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst and Rock Health.
For its part, H1 raised about $200 million and the latest price was approx $773 million in 2022. Pitchbook notes that it also raised an undisclosed amount in 2024.
The H1 has been aimed for integration with Ribbon for years, Katz told TechCrunch. The two companies collect similar data but serve different client sets, he said.
“I've been trying to buy Ribbon for three years,” Katz said, adding that the two companies have many synergies because they collect similar data.
Ribbon serves patients by providing details about doctors' skills, costs and quality. Ribbon data such as those purchased by healthcare navigation companies transparent and made available to patients through RightWay and then through health insurance sites. H1 already tends to work with pharmaceutical and other companies in the healthcare business who provide data and other insights to help them, for example, set up and run clinical trials.
While Ribbon probably wasn't a fire sale, we're expecting a lot of startups struggling to raise follow-on funding this year and reaching the end of their runways. They will become acquisition targets, if they don't stop altogether.