mPulse Mobile Acquires HealthCrowd and Receives Growth Investment from PSG

mPulse Mobile, a leader in conversational AI and digital engagement solutions for the healthcare industry, today announced its acquisition of HealthCrowd, a leading communications platform-as-a-service innovator focused primarily on the Medicaid market. Also today, mPulse announced a growth investment from PSG, a leading growth equity firm partnering with middle-market software and technology-enabled services companies.

The acquisition comes at a time when healthcare organizations need innovative solutions to engage consumers as the pandemic spurs a dramatic adoption of virtual health. Health plans and providers are adapting to a significant shift towards consumer experience as a measure of performance. By joining two innovative organizations with deep expertise in delivering personalized digital health experiences, the combined company has unmatched health engagement capabilities across a number of measurements to transform how healthcare organizations improve both outcomes and the consumer experience through digital touchpoints.

“HealthCrowd has proven they can deliver effective engagement solutions to hard-to-reach individuals and communities with significant social determinants of health (SDoH) influences who have been most impacted by the pandemic,” said Chris Nicholson, CEO of mPulse Mobile. “By coming together, we combine mPulse’s unique conversational AI and rich streaming heath education capabilities with HealthCrowd’s engagement solution expertise to build highly tailored programs that put the consumer at the forefront of their health experience. Our reach expands to support over 100M patients and health plan members across the United States and addresses key health challenges like medication adherence, gaps-in-care and plan navigation.”

The new funding from PSG will aim to accelerate mPulse’s go-to-market expansion, enable innovation across mPulse’s health engagement solutions and fuel organic and inorganic growth opportunities. With this investment, PSG becomes a majority shareholder in mPulse Mobile. Current mPulse investors also participated in this round, including Optum Ventures, OCA Ventures, HLM Venture Partners, Echo Health Ventures, SJF Ventures and Bonfire Ventures. Truist Securities served as exclusive financial advisor and DLA Piper served as legal advisor to mPulse. Cain Brothers represented HealthCrowd in the related transaction. Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.

“We’re excited to partner with mPulse Mobile to execute on their growth strategy,” said Marco Ferrari, Managing Director at PSG. “Consumerization in healthcare is placing novel demands on payers. We see mPulse’s unique combination of technologies being at the forefront of innovation aiming to address these needs and streamline the industry. We look forward to helping mPulse accelerate their mission to drive a more meaningful member experience and improve health outcomes.”

“Demand is surging from members seeking a tailored, consumer-first health experience. HealthCrowd has worked obsessively to create measurable value and deliver positive outcomes in the Medicaid and Medicare markets while paying keen attention to the member experience,” said Neng Bing Doh, CEO of HealthCrowd. ”mPulse is reimagining the way payers engage with members to meet this need and the combined strength will unlock enormous benefits for health plans, their members and the larger healthcare ecosystem. We’re thrilled to join the mPulse team and leverage our cultures and capabilities to work toward this shared mission.”

As mPulse Mobile expands its market reach and solutions to better service clients, they are adding two market leaders to their board who will provide strategic guidance on the next evolution of solution and market strategy. Mark Emkjer, former CEO of WebMD, will be joining the board as Chairman, and Scott Heimes, former CMO of Zipwhip, recently acquired by Twillio will be joining as a board member.

About mPulse Mobile:

mPulse Mobile is reimagining health engagement to inspire healthier lives and deeper relationships between healthcare organizations and their consumers. A leading healthcare Conversational AI platform combines with award-winning health education for the streaming age to deliver tailored digital health engagement that nurtures, educates, and activates healthcare consumers. With more than a decade of experience, 150+ healthcare customers and 500 million conversations annually, mPulse Mobile has the data, the expertise, and the solutions to drive healthy behavior change. To learn more visit mpulsemobile.com

About HealthCrowd:

HealthCrowd is a leading consumer engagement company that seeks to successfully orchestrate healthcare communications to drive healthy actions and consumer satisfaction while managing compliance. HealthCrowd’s technology platform enables organizations across the healthcare spectrum to control, coordinate and analyze all communications to their members and patients. HealthCrowd serves 4 out of 5 of the country's top managed care organizations. HealthCrowd manages lives in 34+ states. By changing consumer perception, HealthCrowd increases health insurance and health system literacy, making consumers better partners with the healthcare ecosystem. For more information, visit www.healthcrowd.com.

About PSG:

PSG is a growth equity firm that partners with middle-market software and technology-enabled services companies to help them navigate transformational growth, capitalize on strategic opportunities and build strong teams. Having backed more than 85 companies and facilitated over 325 add-on acquisitions, PSG brings extensive investment experience, deep expertise in software and technology and a firm commitment to collaborating with management teams. Founded in 2014, PSG operates out of offices in Boston, Kansas City and London. To learn more about PSG, visit www.psgequity.com.

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