Digital Health’s Newest Unicorn Provides Lonely People With a ‘Family on Demand’⁠↗

The interest from investors, which also include TCG, Tiger Global Management, Canaan, Initialized Capital and Seven Seven Six, speaks to the growing recognition that a person’s “health” isn’t limited to the doctor’s office — a combination of socioeconomic factors from access to transportation to distance to a grocery store play a role in long-term healthcare costs.

The around 25,000 pals in Papa’s network earn an hourly rate between $20 to $25 an hour (plus an opportunity for bonuses) and will provide around 500,000 companionship hours this year. Parker says around 20% of Papa Pals fall in the category of pre-med, nursing or social work students, but the vast majority don’t have a background in healthcare. “By removing bathing and toileting, which we do not do, we’ve now empowered a whole new category of care,” he says.