Sword Health valued at $4 billion in General Catalyst-led funding round

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(Reuters) -Digital healthcare company Sword Health said on Tuesday it has secured a valuation of $4 billion after raising $40 million in a funding round led by venture capital firm General Catalyst.

The round, where Khosla Ventures, Comcast Ventures and Lince Capital also participated, will help the company expand and develop its artificial intelligence offerings.

Sword, founded in Portugal, provides motion sensor wearables that use AI to offer virtual physical rehabilitation and pain management solutions, which eventually lowers healthcare expenses for users.

Late-stage startups leveraging AI have gained traction from venture capital firms, in an otherwise muted environment for private funding.

General Catalyst has also been vocal about its bid to invest in healthcare firms with AI capabilities. Speaking at a Yahoo Finance podcast on Monday, its CEO Hemant Taneja said the technology has the potential to transform global healthcare.

Sword, which counts high-profile investors such as Transformation Capital and Founders Fund among its backers, has raised more than $300 million to date. It was valued at $3 billion in a financing round last year.

“We back companies driving meaningful change in healthcare, and we believe Sword Health sits squarely at the forefront of that transformation,” said Chris Bischoff, managing director at General Catalyst and Sword board director.

Earlier in the year, Google-backed AI drug discovery startup Isomorphic Labs and Abridge, a startup that uses AI to build medical documents, had also received financing from venture capital firms.

(Reporting by Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)