Oscar, The Startup That's Trying To Shake Up Health Care, Just Raised $80 Million
Oscar officially launched in New York City in January of this year, after founders Kevin Nazemi, Joshua Kushner, and Mario Schlosser decided that they wanted to use technology to create a better, more consumer-friendly health insurance company.
The site is well-designed and easy to navigate, and tries to one-up traditional health insurance companies like Aetna and UnitedHealth by making bill paying a breeze and allowing members to consult with doctors over the phone at no additional charge.
Forbes reports that the company currently has more than 16,000 customers who pay an average of $4,500 in annual fees - placing Oscar's revenue at around $72 million, with a valuation of $800 million.
The round was led by Joe Lonsdale of Formation8 and includes Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst Partners, and others, and Oscar plans to use the new funding to hire more employees and expand into different areas (right now it's only available in New York).
Kushner, Oscar's CEO, also founded Thrive Capital, a VC firm that has funded big-names like Instagram, Warby Parker, Nasty Gal, and MakerBot.