London-based virtual hospital ward startup Doccla has closed a £35m Series B funding round led by Lakestar.

Doccla was launched in 2019 after co-founder Martin Ratz suffered a heart attack. Ratz said the hospital he stayed at provided limited monitoring despite new medical technology being available.

Doccla was founded to provide constant virtual monitoring that allows medical staff to be updated on patient conditions in real-time.

Originally founded in Sweden, Doccla entered the UK in 2020 with an initial pilot ward. The Covid-19 pandemic provided an early boost in the need for its products.

The company now works with NHS partners as well as a handful of international healthcare providers.

“Technology-enabled virtual wards deliver great benefits for patients, who can recover at home while freeing up resources for healthcare providers,” said Ratz.

“Our work has proven immensely valuable to the UK’s National Health Service and we’re excited to scale our European operations.

“At the same time, we see exceptional upside potential for our services in the Life Sciences sector and will continue to invest in our data science operations.”

The latest funding round follows Doccla’s £15m Series A in 2022.

“In less than five years Doccla has gone from a research project to establishing itself as the market leader in the UK,” said Lakestar partner Oliver Heimes.

“We are confident they will not just maintain that position but successfully launch in new markets, whilst diversifying their services. Remote patient care delivers proven results and is ushering in new standards in the healthcare systems globally.”

Additional funding for the round came from Elaia, General Catalyst, Bertelsmann Investments and Speedinvest.