Headquartered in New York City, Sword Health focuses on addressing muscle and joint issues from the neck down to the ankle. Additionally, it offers a specialized women’s health program called Bloom, which focuses on pelvic conditions. Serving both employers and health plans, Sword Health provides patients with access to a comprehensive AI care platform. This platform includes a clinical specialist, personalized programs, educational content, and technology that assists users during exercises.
The $130 million financing round includes contributions from both new and existing investors. Although the company did not disclose the names of investors involved in this round, its existing investors include Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst, and Founders Fund. According to the announcement, this financing round involves a combination of primary and secondary sales to provide liquidity to current and former employees and early investors. In total, Sword Health has raised $340 million and is now valued at $3 billion, marking a 50% increase from its Series D valuation announced in 2021. The company has also expressed the possibility of an IPO in the near future.
Sword Health’s new AI care specialist, named Phoenix, leverages historical data on patients’ conditions and progress. Phoenix engages in verbal communication with users, inquiring about their well-being and offering motivation. During sessions, it provides real-time feedback and suggestions, summarizing the patient’s performance data afterward to help clinicians better understand progress.
Virgilio “V” Bento, founder and CEO of Sword Health, expressed enthusiasm about the launch of Phoenix, stating, “Since pioneering the novel concept of AI Care during my PhD over a decade ago, we’ve been relentlessly working on its evolution through many different iterations. Now, the launch of Phoenix represents the largest leap forward of our model to date, and we’re very excited about the impact it will have on how the world accesses and receives care.”
The rollout of Phoenix is scheduled throughout 2024, beginning with Thrive, Sword Health’s physical pain solution, and later expanding to Bloom. Eventually, it will be integrated across the company’s entire platform.
This announcement coincides with a global prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions affecting approximately 1.71 billion people, according to the World Health Organization, with such conditions being the leading contributor to disability. However, investors like Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, believe that AI has the potential to significantly enhance care delivery.
Khosla stated, “AI is the only way to deliver personalized and accessible healthcare to everyone. We bet on Sword early on based on their bold vision of creating a new category of healthcare powered by AI. Their execution has been world-class, and we are thrilled to continue working with them as they bring their AI Care platform to more people around the globe.”
While Sword Health leads the charge in providing musculoskeletal support, it is not alone in the field, with competitors such as Hinge Health and Kaia Health also offering similar services.
