Closing on oversubscribed Series A
A startup enabling in-office dental surgeries, which saw demand surge when hospital operating rooms closed during the pandemic, has added $1 million from a new VC firm for a total of $6 million this year.
SmileMD has closed the oversubscribed round, the company confirmed after filing an update with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. AXA Venture Partners, an early stage venture firm with offices in Europe and the United States, is the new investor, the company said through a spokeswoman.
Seattle-based SpringRock Ventures had led the then-$5 million round in January, joined by returning investors Loud Capital of Columbus and individuals. The seven-year-old company brings mobile anesthesiologists, support staff and equipment to dental practices so they can perform outpatient surgery without waiting weeks or months for a slot to open up in a hospital or surgery center.
After operating rooms reopened, independent practices found the waiting lists were even longer, SmileMD CEO Saket Agrawal said for a recent Columbus Business First package on how small businesses responded to the pandemic.
As with the adoption of telehealth during the pandemic, shifting more procedures out of hospitals when appropriate appears to be permanent, he said then. “Once you have offices that get used to your services and see the benefits we’re driving – that was the larger impact, introducing our services to more people,” Agrawal said. “It’s been a win-win-win across the board.”
SmileMD moved to Columbus earlier this year from Dublin. It has more than 40 employees and a contract network of more than 100 anesthesiologists and support staff. So far, it operates in Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky.
The investment is in SmileMD Holdings Inc., a Delaware holding company for the Ohio operating entity, OFFOR Health Inc.