Nelly raises $51M to digitalize medical practices across Europe

Nelly wants to become the biggest fintech startup in the healthcare industry. The Berlin-based startup is already working with more than 1,200 medical practices in a handful of European countries. But there are thousands more that could benefit from an upgrade for their administrative workflows.

That’s why Nelly recently raised €50 million in funding (around $51 million at current exchange rates) in a Series B round led by Cathay Innovation, along with Notion Capital. Existing investors b2venture, Lakestar, Motive Ventures, and Arc Investors also participated once again.

While many industries have fully switched to digital workflows, Nelly’s founding team realized that many medical practices are lagging behind. “I went to the doctor, I had to fill in all my data with pen and paper. And then four weeks later, I received a thick letter with a request to pay €120,” Nelly co-founder and CEO Niklas Radner told TechCrunch.

The company started with a software-as-a-service product that lets medical practices onboard new patients digitally. Patients book an appointment and then receive a confirmation message via SMS, WhatsApp, or email with a link. They can click on that link and fill out their personal details and medical history.

“But the reality today is that more than 50% of all appointments are still not scheduled digitally. They are scheduled by a phone call or by just walking into the practice,” Radner said. That’s why patients can also scan a QR code to open Nelly’s portal from the waiting room.

Behind the scenes, Nelly integrates with existing practice management systems. Data is updated and stored in these legacy systems so that practices don’t have to switch to a new system altogether. These connectors are either built in house by the Nelly team or developed by Nelly’s partners.

This onboarding system acts as the backbone for the rest of the product suite. “You could see Nelly as, let’s say, a Typeform/DocuSign/Klarna for medical practices,” Radner said. He was formerly a growth lead at Klarna.

On the patient side, in addition to online bookings and the onboarding features, patients can pay medical practices using online payments or Nelly-managed card readers. Patients can also receive reminders to leave a review on Google Maps.

As for medical practices, Nelly can handle invoices and billing. This part can save significant time for medical practices, as it can lead to spending less time chasing out-of-pocket payments.

Nelly can also be used as an alternative to a corporate bank account with an expense management system and corporate credit cards. Finally, Nelly offers factoring for instant payouts of outstanding claims.

These strong integrations in the patient journey and into the medical practice’s back-office system create a barrier to entry for other fintech companies. Nelly has also gone through data protection certifications as well. “We are the first company that sent digital invoices in the medical space in Germany,” Radner said.

The product is currently available in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It recently expanded to Italy, and there are more countries coming down the road.

“Nelly works with the largest DSOs [dental service organizations] in Europe … And we won the deal for the Colosseum Dental Group, which operates in 11 European countries. And they want to scale to their 700 locations with Nelly,” Radner said. “So we’re going to expand with our customers to more markets in Europe.”