What You Should Know:
– Forward, a leading AI-powered healthcare company, has announced $100M in growth capital to expand its network of Forward CarePods, self-service AI-powered doctor’s offices. This investment will fuel Forward’s mission to revolutionize healthcare by making it more accessible, affordable, and high-quality.
– The funding round was led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Founders Fund, Samsung Next, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Softbank. In addition to these blue-chip venture funds, Forward is also backed by AI luminaries such as Eric Schmidt, former CEO and Chairman of Google; John Giannandrea, SVP of Artificial Intelligence at Apple; Demis Hassabis, co-founder of DeepMind; and Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind and Inflection AI.
On-Demand AI-Powered Doctor’s Offices
Forward was founded to address these challenges by using technology to scale care to the people of the world. Since 2016, the company has built a vertically integrated, direct-to-consumer healthcare system with 19 locations nationwide and a team of over 100 primary care clinicians. Now, with the expansion of Forward CarePods, Forward is taking a major leap forward. These self-service AI-powered doctor’s offices provide patients with on-demand access to a broad range of services, including disease detection, biometric body scans, blood testing, and more. CarePods are being deployed in malls, gyms, and offices, and Forward plans to more than double its footprint in 2024.
CarePods Health Apps
CarePods are powered by Forward’s proprietary AI, which turns clinical expertise and the latest medical research into diagnostic tools and care plans. These AI-powered care plans are called Health Apps, and they are designed to treat the issues of today and prevent the issues of tomorrow. Patients can access Health Apps in Forward CarePods and the Forward mobile app.
Health Apps help patients address a wide range of disease areas, including diabetes, hypertension, and depression & anxiety. Forward plans to increase coverage of Health Apps over time to include services such as Prenatal Care, Advanced Cancer Screening, and Polygenic Risk Analysis.
Data from CarePod visits is seamlessly and securely transmitted to Forward’s platform, enabling continuous progress monitoring, identifying disease risks, and providing in-depth evaluations using sensors, laboratory tests, and vital sign measurements. Patients can access all their health data 24/7 in the Forward mobile app.
Availability & Membership Costs
CarePods are being deployed in malls, gyms, and offices, and Forward plans to more than double its footprint in 2024. CarePods are launching nationwide starting in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. Memberships start at $99 per month, making Forward CarePods an affordable option for patients of all income levels.
