Govtech Fund has made its first investment in Europe with HealthTech company Forward.
Forward was founded in 2016 by UK doctors Barney Gilbert and Lydia Yarlott, along with serial entrepreneur Philip Mundy. Its mission is to connect healthcare systems around the world, making communication secure, transparent and flexible for healthcare professionals and patients.
The company’s first solution is a clinical messaging app for UK-based clinicians, which is quickly becoming a critical component in patient management across clinical teams in the UK since launch.
Users have harnessed the tech to find efficient, secure and more collaborative ways of working. Forward Health has been piloted across six NHS Trusts over the past year, with over 6,000 clinicians already using the platform.
Since its launch in 2014, Govtech Fund has invested in 20 govtech start-ups out of its first two early-stage funds focused on a vast array of government operations. These include foster care, law enforcement, parking and pensions.
Govtech Fund’s portfolio companies have raised more than $300 million in total capital from leading venture capitalists First Round Capital, Lowercase Capital, General Catalyst, Bezos Expeditions, Khosla Ventures, Jim Breyer and more.
Govtech Fund is building an ecosystem, including 20,000+ government agency relationships, which has enabled several start-ups in its portfolio to attain double digit monthly growth.
“We considered a range of venture investors to support us during our next phase of growth, but our goal was to partner with the market leader in govtech,” said Forward co-CEO & co-founder Dr. Barney Gilbert.
“As the first ever fund exclusively focused on government technology start-ups, this partnership will be invaluable as we look ahead towards international expansion.”