Glooko raises stakes on remote monitoring 

PALO ALTO, Calif. – Glooko saw its remote monitoring business take off in 2020 and plans to use recent funding to increase adoption of its platform by diabetes patients and their health care providers. 

The company, which provides a software-as-a-service application and accompanying mobile app, will ramp up its marketing, among other efforts, after raising $30 million in Series D funding. 

“Remote monitoring is a solution we’ve had for years, but the pandemic forced the need to have people with chronic conditions supported with remote monitoring,” said CEO Russ Johannesson. “We leaned into it.” 

Glooko, which also provides chronic care management solutions, will also use the funding to speed up its expansion into co-morbidities like hypertension and cardiovascular conditions, including by making acquisitions to increase capacity, says Johannesson. 

Lean in

A big reason Glooko saw its remote monitoring business take off last year was its decision in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic to offer its platform for free to people with diabetes and medical clinics to keep them safe and connected, says Johannesson.  

“We expect that after the pandemic subsides, we’ll start to work to convert those to paying customers at some level,” he said. “That was good for the marketplace, but even without that, business has taken off as, (providers) are really seeing the value of being able to share the data and being able to connect with patients.” 

Connect 

In addition to the new funding, Glooko will continue to leverage strong partnerships with leaders in the diabetes space, including Insulet and Novo Nordisk, says Johannesson. Those partnerships include device integration agreements and data sharing. 

“We’re the connective tissue across the diabetes ecosystem,” he said. “I think the companies that are having an impact in this space see the value of interoperability and shared connectivity.” 

Innovate 

The pace of innovation around technology that supports people with diabetes and other chronic conditions will continue to accelerate, says Johannesson. 

“The name of the game is engaging consumers, and leveraging data and analysis (tools) like AI and machine learning,” he said.