By Thomas Beaton, HealthPayer Intelligence | September 12, 2018

Cigna’s $250 million venture fund will support new healthcare startups focused on analytics, digital health, and care management.

Cigna will invest $250 million in the new Cigna Ventures fund, which will invest in healthcare startups specializing in analytics, digital health, retail, care management, and other business opportunities related to value-based care.

Cigna Ventures is targeting nine business domains across its three major investment categories.

The fund will focus on analytics investments that can address the challenges of improving risk assessment, healthcare network optimization, and patient care plan assessment. Cigna Ventures is also looking for companies that work to improve member wellness, customer service and experiences, and therapeutic solutions. Investments in care management will center on care enablement, sites of care, and patient access to care.

The payer created the fund in order to assess early-stage innovation in the healthcare space and pilot new ideas that help Cigna create a meaningful return on investment. Cigna Ventures expands the payer’s current investment portfolio and includes five venture capital partners and direct investments.

“Cigna’s commitment to improving the health, well-being, and sense of security of the people we serve is at the front and center of everything we do,” said Tom Richards, senior vice president and global lead for strategy and business development at Cigna.

“The venture fund will enable us to drive innovation beyond our existing core business operations, and incubate new ideas, opportunities, and relationships that have the potential for long-term business growth and to help our customers.”

The payer previously made investments up-and-coming healthcare companies that specialize mainly in digital health optimization.

Cigna’s major investments include series C funding for Omada Health, a digitally-supported therapeutics company, and separate investments in similar companies such as Prognos, Contessa Health, MDLIVE, and Cricket Health.

“Our partnership with Cigna has been about so much more than capital,” said Sean Duffy, co-founder and CEO of Omada. “The ability to collaborate with, learn from, and integrate deeply with a health services company so dedicated to delivering a 21st-century care experience to its customers and clients has enabled us to accelerate innovation, advance our capabilities, and grow our customer base.”