Zachariah Reitano, co-founder and CEO of Ro.
Source: Ro
Online drug and health technology company Ro has raised $ 500 million in new funding, its chief executive told Bloomberg News.
The tour is valued at New York-based Ro at $ 5 billion, according to people familiar with the case who asked not to be identified because the deal is private.
Chief Executive Officer Zachariah Reitano said the investment round was led by existing investors General Catalist, Capital of FirstMark and TQ Initiatives. Introducing new investors Calpa Altimeter, Dragoneer Investment Group and 776 also joined the tour.
The company and Reitano declined to comment on the valuation.
Ro, officially called Roman Health Ventures Inc., first got caught up in selling erectile dysfunction medication online when it launched about four years ago. It has since been expanded to more services, including women’s health and weight management. It also offers an online pharmacy for people to order sexual drugs.
With the new money, Ro plans to improve existing services and build new ones. It has raised $ 876 million since its inception in 2017.
“What this funding allows us to do is invest more and more in that infrastructure,” Reitano said in an interview Monday. “It will allow us to expand the breadth and depth of care we provide. ”
Going public is a question of when, if not if, Reitano added. The company will evaluate the time and equipment that makes the most sense, he said. Ro rival Hims went public earlier this year through a merger with a blank check company.
“This is going to be a big public company,” Brad Gerstner, Altimeter’s chief executive, referring to Ro.
Gerstner said the coronavirus pandemic has altered people’s behavior, including how they want to interact with their doctor.
“From telemedicine all the way from online doctor visits to online pharmacies to home blood transfusions, vaccines,” Gerstner said. “We have discovered over the last 12 months that the world is ready for it. ”
The Ro model relies on people paying out of pocket instead of insurance. The company’s revenue totaled $ 230 million last year, Reitano said.
Ro wants to use software and a network of doctors across the country to reach millions of people, something Reitano said is much harder to do if the company wanted to build clinics. Companies large and small have tried this model, which requires costly investments and is limited to reaching patients nearby.
Last year, Ro got a work path, allowing software that sends health care workers into patients ’homes to perform diagnostic screens and other services.