ianacare Secures $12.1M to Revolutionize Family Caregiving

The Growing Need for Family Caregiver Support

Currently, over 54 million individuals in the United States serve as family caregivers. These working caregivers dedicate an average of 25 hours weekly to caring for loved ones, in addition to their full-time employment.

A significant challenge arises from the lack of adequate support, leading 32% of these caregivers to ultimately leave their jobs to provide full-time care.

Ianacare: Addressing a Critical Gap

Jessica Kim, CEO of ianacare, personally understands these challenges. She made the difficult decision to leave her career in 2016 to care for her mother full-time, a situation shared by nearly one-third of working caregivers.

Kim co-founded ianacare in 2018, drawing upon her seven years of experience supporting her mother through a cancer battle.

Caregiver support represents a substantial and often overlooked deficiency within both healthcare and employee benefits systems.

Demographics of Caregiving

According to a report from the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC), approximately 61% of caregivers are women, while 39% are men.

“Caregiving has historically been viewed as an individual responsibility, forcing a choice between work and family,” explains Kim. “Addressing the care needs of individuals is essential for retaining women in leadership positions and the workforce as a whole.”

A Tech-Enabled Solution

ianacare has developed a platform that delivers tech-enabled caregiver support through employers and health plans.

The company’s core mission is to provide encouragement, empowerment, and essential resources to family caregivers, ensuring they don’t have to navigate these challenges alone.

Recent Funding and Expansion

ianacare recently announced a $12.1 million Series A funding round, led by Greycroft, with participation from 8VC, SemperVirensVC, Able Partners, and Brown Alumni Group.

Existing investors, including Slow, Founder Collective, Indicator Venture, Entrée Capital, and CueBall, also contributed to this funding round.

This new capital, bringing the total funding to $16.7 million, will be allocated to expanding sales, growing the internal team, and enhancing operations to meet the increasing demand from companies seeking to support their employees who are family caregivers.

ianacare currently employs seven individuals full-time and plans to increase its workforce to over 25 by the end of the year.

How Ianacare Works

“ianacare serves as the primary access point for caregivers to the various support systems they require within the home setting,” Kim stated.

The free mobile app allows users to easily coordinate tasks with friends and family, including grocery delivery, medication pick-up, and respite care.

This feature, known as personal social circles, is available to all users, even those whose employers are not yet enterprise partners.

Enterprise Partnerships and Growth

The startup collaborates with employers and institutions to offer a scalable and cost-effective enterprise solution as a benefit for working caregivers.

Launched in March 2021, the enterprise solution currently supports over 400,000 individuals through partnerships with companies like Anthem, an insurance provider.

ianacare anticipates expanding its coverage to over 1 million individuals by launching with several major employers in 2022.

Differentiating Factors

ianacare distinguishes itself by providing “unlimited access to online chat, phone, and video consultations with professional caregiver coaches,” alongside four other layers of support.

The platform functions as a comprehensive, one-stop solution, connecting caregivers with personalized support tailored to their specific home, work, and care circumstances.

It proactively identifies gaps in care and addresses them with available resources for both the caregiver and the care recipient.

The Importance of Infrastructure

“Many tasks fall to family caregivers, such as medication management, transportation, and dietary needs,” says Steven Lee, COO and co-founder of ianacare. “Creating a robust care infrastructure requires access, knowledge, and guidance.”

Lee emphasizes that while numerous resources exist, they are often fragmented and difficult to locate. Technology enables ianacare to integrate these systems, simplify coordination, and deliver personalized experiences at scale.

The Future of Caregiving

The scalability of the ianacare platform is crucial, particularly given the increased demand for in-home care accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of family caregivers is projected to exceed 75 million Americans within the next decade, based on current growth rates of over 10 million every five years.

Without adequate support systems, this growth will have a significant impact on the U.S. healthcare system, society, culture, and the workplace.

Positive Outcomes

Family caregivers, who have an average age of 59, experience higher rates of anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances compared to non-caregivers, according to The New York Times.

However, a recent study conducted by Healthcore among working family caregivers at Anthem revealed that those using ianacare’s platform experienced an 83% increase in productivity, a 30% reduction in stress and burden, and 96% felt supported by their employer.

Investor Confidence

“We’ve long believed in the potential for innovation in the caregiving space,” states Ellie Wheeler, partner at Greycroft, who will join the ianacare board. “The comprehensive nature of ianacare’s platform and the founders’ personal commitment made them the ideal team to drive this transformation.”