Founders Fund Backs Health Startup, Ringadoc

SAN FRANCISCO, June 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ringadoc, a health company that brings virtual medical visits to any phone or computer on demand, announced today that it has received $750K in a seed round led by FF Angel, the seed investment vehicle of Founders Fund, the San Francisco-based venture capital firm. The round also includes participation from board member Ryan Howard, CEO and founder of fasting growing physician-patient community Practice Fusion, and Curious Minds, a Los Angeles-based technology incubator.

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Ringadoc currently facilitates on demand virtual visits over any phone, smartphone, or computer. This direct-to-consumer product connects people to licensed, verified physicians, who can provide health advice, diagnoses, and even prescriptions when warranted. Powering the service is an instant routing technology that enables patients to receive quality medical care on demand, without the need to schedule an appointment or visit a facility in person. The company will use the seed funding to build a new product offering for physicians to use directly in their offices as well as for key hires.

Ringadoc joins FF Angel's portfolio of companies, among which are some of the earliest iterations of transformative technologies. 

"We're very excited and honored to have Founders Fund leading this seed round," said Jordan Michaels, CEO and founder of Ringadoc. "They're strategic, innovative investors who provide unparalleled support for entrepreneurs solving difficult problems. They value the power of disruptive ideas that can transform and affect entire populations and industries. Ringadoc aims to be the backbone for all patient-physician communication that occurs outside of an office, with the ultimate goal of virtualizing primary care. It's a lofty goal, but Founders Fund believes in it just as much as we do."

Ringadoc plans to roll out the new product for physicians this summer. The San Francisco-based company is hiring and seeking partners interested in licensing the instant routing technology.

From the investors:

Bruce Gibney, a partner at Founders Fund, noted "a good solution for instant, on-demand medical service for people without their doctor's home phone number – essentially everyone – has basically never existed until Jordan and his team developed Ringadoc. While the problems of inefficiency of in-person primary care are finally being addressed, direct, no-wait access to physicians has not been solved even though telepresence is extraordinarily fast, cheap and widespread. Ringadoc has finally solved that problem and will bring relief to thousands of people with immediate medical needs." 

"Our vision for Ringadoc is for it to be the frontline of all non-urgent patient care" said Howard. "They offer multiple channels for patients to reach doctors beyond waiting for in-person office visits, while also making it easier for doctors to manage the overflow of patients. It's a powerful solution."

Michaels notes that Ringadoc's technology is already popular with doctors. "The physicians who use the direct-to-consumer Ringadoc product love the speed and ease with which they can consult with patients. With the introduction of our new product this summer, we will be bringing that technology right into doctors' offices. We definitely don't want to interfere with doctors' existing workflows. Instead, our product will integrate into what they're already doing to make it simpler and more efficient. Technology has a tendency to make human capital obsolete; ours does just the opposite. Ringadoc understands the importance of a doctor's time and limited resources and will provide them the tools to make them a more efficient and powerful resource for the patients they serve."

About Ringadoc

Ringadoc offers instant audio and video consultations with doctors over any basic phone, smartphone, or computer. The company's proprietary technology provides patients the easiest and most convenient way to access doctors and doctors the easiest and most convenient way to provide care to patients. Ringadoc has thousands of registered members already being connected to doctors every day. With an average wait time of less than three minutes, the company offers the fastest connection to a licensed doctor on the market. Ringadoc is led by Founder and CEO Jordan Michaels and by a board of directors that includes healthcare innovator Ryan Howard, Founder and CEO of Practice Fusion.

About Founders Fund

Founders Fund provides capital to transformational businesses run by world-class entrepreneurs. Companies the firm has backed include SpaceX, Palantir Technologies, Spotify, Knewton, ZocDoc, and Practice Fusion. The firm, which pursues a founder-friendly investment strategy, is managed by six partners: Peter Thiel, Ken Howery, Luke Nosek, Bruce Gibney, Brian Singerman, and Sean Parker.

Press Contact – Stephanie A. Higa
Email: [email protected] 
Web Address: http://www.ringadoc.com 
Location: San Francisco, CA
Phone: (415) 630-4890
Fax: (415) 534-1208

SOURCE Ringadoc