Beep Saúde, the ‘Uber of vaccines’, receives investment from Mark Zuckerberg

Rio de Janeiro startup Beep Saúde, which provides vaccines and conducts laboratory tests at home, announces this Thursday, the 27th, that it has received a contribution led by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), a social impact investment firm from Mark Zuckerbergthe founder Facebook, and his wife Priscilla Chan. DNA Capital, Bradesco, Endeavor Catalyst and David Velez (founder Nubank), who had previously invested in the company in previous rounds, returned to invest in the business.

The value of the deal was not disclosed by the company, which is trying to be discreet in relation to the current startup austerity scenario. The flight of venture capital resulted in 2022 not only in mass layoffs, but also made stories of major investments in the country rare. “Discovering value could convey the idea that we have an abundance of money, while internally our discourse is maximally efficient,” he explains Estadão Vander Corteze, founder of the company.

Although it does not have a number to boast of, Beep is attracting attention with a new international investor. Healthtech is CZI’s first global healthcare investment – although Priscilla is a pediatrician, the company has traditionally focused on education startups. In February 2021, CZI led an $84.5 million round in Descomplicathe company’s first foray into Brazil.

“Our team is very excited about Beep’s potential to use technology to equitably expand access to high-quality healthcare, which aligns with CZI’s mission to build a more inclusive, fairer and healthier future for all,” Vivian Wu, CZI’s Chief Investment Officer.

Talks between Beep and CZI started at the beginning of the year – the bridge was built by other investors of the Brazilian company. “The first talks carried a lot of euphoria in 2021, which ignored the cash balance and focused on growth. That had to change,” says Corteze. So Beep is about achievement to equalize (ie it will stop operating in the red) in the first half of 2023.

This, says the executive director, was essential for CZI to decide on the investment – he also reveals that it is an investment. up round (that is, corrected the market value of the company upwards). In April 2021, when the company received a contribution of R$ 110 millionBeep is valued at R$670 million – the current value is also undisclosed.

Although Beep is known as “Uber vaccines,” Corteze prefers to stay away from the comparison. “The idea of ​​Uber has a lot to do with gig economy, with the work of partners. All our employees are CLTs,” he claims. He prefers to target another tech giant. “We want to be a ‘one-stop shop in the health space,’ as it were Amazon in electronic commerce,” he says.

The comparison makes sense. Beep Health has licensed clinics that function as hubs to support the operation — just like the distribution centers of US retailers. It is from these places that a couple of nurses and drivers leave to respond to the request made through the application. In fact, the care of this division of the company is reminiscent of the giant founded by Jeff Bezos. During 2022, Beep made adjustments in the logistics arm, mainly in route optimization, which allowed it to increase its margins by 20% — a move that helped convince investors to take a fresh look. The collection projection for 2023 is R$ 250 million.

Before becoming an all-in-one health store, Beep plans to leverage the investment on two fronts. The first is to consolidate its business as a service for vaccines – the company is present in 150 municipalities in six states (SP, RJ, ES, MG, PR and DF) in the country.

Another front is the development of the home lab test branch, which was launched after the 2021 contribution. “In our last contribution, we ‘bought’ tickets to the party. Now we want to be present,” explains Corteze. Part of that challenge is increasing health plan coverage for the service. Currently, the company is already part of 40 health plans covering 5 million people. “We want to strengthen the leadership in diagnostic medicine. And in the future to offer new services, such as drug infusion, drug delivery, eye health and telemedicine,” he says.