Papa

Papa is a platform that provides on demand companionship services for elderly persons. The Papa community functions as a family on-demand and helps the users with daily tasks such as car rides and chores, in addition to companionship. The company’s services overall aim to reduce the loneliness and increased risk of premature death caused by social isolation. 

The service is available nationwide, typically covered by health plans and employer benefits. Papa has also partnered with multiple health insurance and health plan providers such as Aetna, AvMed, Florida Blue Medicare, and Priority Health, among others. 

The company has taken a digital approach and included virtual companionship in response to the pandemic. Papa noted in May 2020 that it conducted more virtual companion visits than it conducted in-person visits prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. The company also launched Papa Pals, to provide contact-free food delivery for the elderly.  

In November 2021, Papa reported that it had retained all customers from the year, and was available to provide more than 65 health plans (comprising over 25 health plans added in the last seven months); Papa announced that it intends to introduce another 26 health plans at the start of 2022. 

In April 2023, the company expanded its launch of its Social Care Navigation Offering after a limited release of the service in 2022. The offering provided a dedicated team of social care navigators that will help users identify and solve social issues such as housing, grocery payment, and overdue health checkups. The expanded rollout made the service offering available to all Papa customers. Previously, this product was provided to selected health plans, with it being used by a quarter of the company’s health plan customers. One such provider, Fallon Health, tripled its member population that would be eligible for the Social Care Navigation offering after noting improvements in member experiences.

Funding and financials

Papa raised USD 150 million in a Series D funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, valuing the company at USD 1.4 billion, in November 2021. The funding came in just seven months after Papa raised USD 60 million in a Series C funding round led by Tiger Global Management. The company intends to use the most recent funds to expand its product offering and market reach.