Stride raises $47M to provide affordable benefits for independent workers

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Stride Health, the leader in portable benefits for independent workers, announced that it has raised a $47 million Series C, bringing its total funding to $96M. The round was led by King River Capital with participation from Mastercard and Allstate along with existing investors Venrock, NEA, Fidelity's F-Prime Capital, and Moderne Ventures.

The funding will be used to expand on Stride's work in building a modern portable benefits system for every American who lacks an employer safety net. Today, Stride helps independent workers enroll in Affordable Care Act health insurance through a unique integration & partnership with healthcare.gov, manage & minimize taxes, and access an array of financial benefits and guidance, all in an easy-to-use app.

Stride partners with more than 120 companies including Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, Amazon, Grubhub, Etsy, Patreon, Keller Williams, Willis Towers Watson, Aon and Gopuff to bring portable benefits to their communities of independent contractors. In the first eight months of 2021, Stride's membership climbed to 2.7M individuals while health enrollments increased 3.5X over 2020.

"Getting your own benefits can be stressful, confusing and expensive for independent workers," said Noah Lang, Co-Founder and CEO of Stride. "An estimated 90 million Americans will work independently by 2028, and they all deserve to feel financially secure. That's why we've built a modern, flexible benefits system for independent workers ? because benefits shouldn't be reserved for full-time traditional employees."

The investment from Mastercard will expand the portable benefits partnership that the companies announced last year. Mastercard and Stride share a vision of creating a benefits system that addresses the needs of an evolving American workforce. Together, the companies will expand accessibility and affordability of critical insurance products like major medical, vision and dental for gig workers, independent contractors and part-time employees.

The investment from Allstate includes a partnership to expand the insurance benefits available on Stride and expand healthcare benefits access to Allstate customers.

The funding included new angel investors Bruce Perkins (former President of Healthcare Services at Humana), Chet Burrell (former CEO of CareFirst), Aneesh Chopra (the first Chief Technology Officer of the United States), Jonathan Bush (founder of AthenaHealth), and Kevin Nazemi (cofounder of Oscar Health Insurance).

Stride also announced the addition of two new Board Directors: Megan Guy, General Partner and Co-Founder of King River Capital, and Opeyemi Oluwole, SVP of Consumer Engagement at Teladoc, who previously held executive roles at American Express and Citi.

"All Americans benefit when more of us have access to affordable, portable benefits," said Megan Guy. "We need a system that mirrors the flexible, individualized nature of work today and that helps the 59 million independent workers in the U.S. navigate the complex world of benefits and financial security. The speed at which Stride's business is scaling speaks to the urgency of this need and the value that its platform delivers to this essential, yet underserved, segment of the U.S. economy."

About Stride

Stride provides the world's first portable benefits platform designed specifically for independent workers, helping them save time and money on insurance and taxes. Since launching in 2014, Stride has helped over 2.7 million workers save over $2.8 billion. Stride partners with the world's leading work platforms and employers of non-benefited workers including Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, Amazon, GrubHub, Etsy, Patreon, Rover, TaskRabbit, Keller Williams and more so they can provide their workers with access to a full marketplace of health and wealth benefits and perks. The company is backed by Venrock, New Enterprise Associates, F-Prime Capital Partners, and Moderne Ventures. For more information, visit https://www.stridebenefits.com.

About King River

King River Capital invests in post-revenue, high-growth software businesses that are solving critical problems within large markets. Since its launch in 2019, King River has raised two venture funds and committed capital to fourteen companies across the US and Australia, including Discord, Lark Health, Immutable, Cover Genius, and Paystand. The firm was founded by three partners, Chris Barter, Zeb Rice, and Megan Guy, who all have a strong track record in early to mid-stage venture investing with a legacy portfolio comprising over fifty companies across multiple markets.

SOURCE Stride Health