Siilo: The Dutch WhatsApp for healthcare professionals raises €9.5M

Dutch Medtech startup Siilo offers an instant messaging app that aims to enable easier and better communication between healthcare workers. The company’s services were in high demand during the pandemic as it enabled a simpler mechanism for the flow of information. The company claims to have built Europe’s largest medical network with more than 250,000 healthcare professionals and now, it has raised €9.5 million in Series A funding.

Product offering expansion and network growth

With the fresh €9.5 million Siilo procured in its Series A funding round, it plans to continue the expansion of its product offerings to better support case-based collaboration and knowledge-sharing on its platform. Additionally, it plans to expand its network across Europe, specifically across the UK and Ireland as well as, DACH, BENELUX. 

Joost Bruggeman, co-founder and CEO at Siilo says, “We believe there is a massive opportunity for healthcare to operate as a collaborative network. We started by connecting professionals treating individual patients, but during the acute phase of the pandemic, we’ve also been able to play a critical role in connecting different levels of healthcare to facilitate faster decision-making and information-sharing. With Siilo, frontline care workers, public health officials, and everyone in between are able to practice medicine together.”

This latest funding round was led by the European digital health VC Heal Capital, backed by Germany’s private health insurers. This is the VC’s first investment following the Berlin-based fund’s launch in 2019. Philips Health Technology Venture Fund also participated in the round, along with Siilo’s current investor EQT Ventures. 

“We’re only just starting to uncover the different ways technology can facilitate collaboration and simplify workflows in healthcare, and we’re excited to increase our product offering and member network with the support of our newest investors, who bring a wealth of insights and experience around scaling innovative healthcare solutions.” Joost adds. 

Siilo – Consolidating a fragmented healthcare system

Siilo was founded back in 2016 by former surgery resident Joost Bruggeman (CEO) and Arvind Rao (CFO). Realising that the methods of communication in the field are dated, the duo came up with a secure, easy-to-use messaging app designed specifically for healthcare professionals. Siilo’s mission is to create a dedicated platform where healthcare professionals can be connected while adhering to various healthcare compliance regulations. 

Demand for Sillo’s services also surged during the pandemic. The company says registration on its platform was up by 309 percent while messages being sent increased by 208 percent. The number of video calls being done through the platform also increased by 270 percent while the duration of the calls increased by 460 percent. These metrics were recently released, soon after the startup offered free access to its crisis management feature to help healthcare professionals.

This article is produced in collaboration with StartupAmsterdam. Read more about our partnering opportunities.