Sharecare buys online caregiver marketplace CareLinx for $65M 


Office workstation top view of business people working around M&A, keyboard, calculator, phablet and money on wooden table - merger and acquisition concept

Office workstation top view of business people working around M&A, keyboard, calculator, phablet and money on wooden table - merger and acquisition concept

Digital health startup Sharecare is expanding its reach into home health with its acquisition of CareLinx for $65 million.

Burlingame, Calif.-based CareLinx operates an online caregiver marketplace. It structures its business differently from other agencies that employ caregivers directly. Instead, the family hiring the caregiver becomes the employer of record, while CareLinx manages payroll and provides insurance in exchange for a portion of their earnings.

Founded in 2011, the startup was acquired by Generali Global Assistance in 2017. CareLinx claims to have 450,000 caregivers on its platform.

The company also has partnerships with the Department of Veterans Affairs and three large health plans, giving more than one million Medicare Advantage members access to its services.

With its acquisition, Sharecare would look to expand CareLinx’s footprint with health plans and providers.

Sharecare has a significant backer in Anthem, which invested $50 million into the company as it looks to go public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), though the companies worked together for years before after Sharecare bought Healthways’ population health business.

“CareLinx has shown impressive organic growth to date, and we believe Sharecare is well positioned to continue that trajectory,” Sharecare President and CFO Justin Ferrero said in a news release. “In fact, CareLinx can be sold into all three of our channels and we already have several of our health plan and provider customers actively looking for this type of solution.”

CareLinx brought in about $5 million in revenue last year, and expects to make $20 million this year.

Sharecare paid $54.6 million in cash and $10.4 million in stock, per the terms of the deal.

Photo credit: Kritchanut, Getty Images