Huli secures US$2 million from Carao Ventures to grow its healthtech SaaS

Contxto – Costa Rica has a lot to be proud of today. Earlier this week, the Costa Rican healthtech Huli secured US$2 million from its compatriot fund Carao Ventures. And no, we’re not talking about Silicon Valley HBO’s led by Gavin Belson here.

Active since 2011, it wasn’t until 2018 that Huli raised its first venture round worth US$1.75 million.

Currently, the company has operations in its native Costa Rica, as well as Mexico, Guatemala, Panama and Peru. Provided with new capital, the healthtech intends to continue expanding its international growth strategy. 

“Happy to announce we at Carao Ventures have invested in an amazing company and group of talented people at Huli,” said Mario Peña, senior analyst at Carao Ventures. “Really excited to see them expand and have a profound impact on Latin American healthcare.”

Over time, over 2 million patients have contacted doctors through Huli’s platform. Today, the company has over 80 employees in its five countries of operation but plans to increase this number in the upcoming months with fresh capital. 

“The relationship with Carao Ventures has been excellent,” said Alejandro Vega, Huli’s cofounder. “More than capital, they have helped us with strategic matters, structuring us for growth, and with relevant commercial relations inside and outside of Costa Rica.” 

Optimizing healthcare

Huli is an all-encompassing tool for complex processes within the healthcare industry. From a patient-facing front-end that facilitates the search of doctors and appointment booking, as well as a holistic EHR for physicians, Huli takes everything into consideration.

Its cloud-based SaaS enables individual doctors, clinics, and even hospitals, to automate processes. All the while, it removes inefficiencies from the supply chain. The EHR, or electronic health record, helps physicians virtually share, analyze, store and manage their information in the most effective manner. 

I don’t know about you, but I believe it’s truly a nuisance to take the same tests and medical exams every time I visit my physician. Redundant examinations that could’ve been saved if the information was already available and virtually (i.e. safely) stored in the cloud. 

The company has three main branches: HuliPractice, HuliHealth, as well as HuliVida.

Respectively, the first offers EHR software to healthcare professionals. HuliHealth is the doctor’s and specialists’ search engine and booking platform. Finally, HuliVida is the application permitting individuals and families to keep track of health data over their smartphones.

According to a press release, Carao Ventures considers Huli to be a platform that “combines the talent, capabilities, and potential required to have a relevant impact in the healthcare sector.”

I agree, for the healthcare industry is as inefficient as financial services, just 10 times more neglected.

-VC