Yabeo et al. in $17m series-A for Cera

Kenny Wastell
02 May 2018

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Yabeo Capital, Kairos Partners and enterprise investment scheme investor Guinness Asset Management have led a $17m series-A funding round for UK-based elderly care provider Cera.

The fresh capital will enable the company to expand into the German market and undertake acquisitions in order to launch its services in Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham. The business is targeting struggling homecare agencies across the UK.

The funding round will also be used to support the development of Cera's AI platform Martha, which is designed to use carer feedback to identify deteriorations in a patient's health – such as when they lose their appetite, develop a fever or are not walking normally.

Existing investors including former Standard Chartered CEO and Davos chairperson Peter Sands have also taken part in the round.

Cera recently appointed former UK deputy prime minister Nick Clegg as chairperson of its advisory board. As part of the latest investment round, the company has made a number of appointments to its senior management team.

Tinder's former global vice-president of product, Ankur Jain, has been appointed Cera's director of product development; former Liberty Global senior legal counsel Philip Young has been appointed as general counsel, former Amazon Fresh operations manager Tao Fu has been appointed head of operations; former Virgin.com chief technology officer Stefan Magdalinski has been appointed chief operating officer; and former Cochlear digital business solution manager Ansgar Lange has been appointed to lead the German expansion.

Previous funding
Czech VC Credo Ventures took part in a £1.3m funding round for Cera in November 2016. Credo then led a £1.4m funding round for Cera in April of the following year, along with Kima Ventures and other angel investors.

Company
Founded in 2015, London-based Cera provides professional carers to elderly patients. It operates alongside an online platform and works with several hospitals to deliver integrated services across health and social care.

People
Cera – Ben Maruthappu (CEO).
Guinness Asset Management – Malcolm King (fund manager).