Aviva is increasing its investment in Aviva Ventures by US$185.5 million, with the aim of investing in early stage businesses that offer new opportunities and insights into emerging technology and customer trends.
The first investment made by the fund is $1.8 million in Scan.com, a company that provides a platform for booking diagnostic scans.
Aviva’s chief innovation officer, Ben Luckett, says that innovation is at the heart of the company’s strategy, and that the new funds will be used to support promising young digital and tech firms.
Aviva Venture’s core aim is to drive innovation and disruption
Aviva Ventures was set up in 2016 with an initial $125 million investment, as part of Aviva’s commitment to innovation. The fund focuses on investments where Aviva can develop a strategic relationship. Investment themes include customer wellbeing, mobility, sustainability, and the opportunities created by new technology developments like Artificial Intelligence. Previous investments include Tembo Money, Outdoorsy, Shepper and Owlstone Medical.
In 2017, Scan.com was launched with the aim of making medical imaging services accessible to everyone. Founded by clinicians who had experienced inefficiencies in organising diagnostics for their patients, Scan.com has grown to become the UK market leader in medical imaging services with a network of 150 scanning centers across the country. It has helped over 10,000 patients and receives referrals from numerous clinicians, consultants, health insurers, and telehealth providers every month.
One of the key features of Scan.com is its appointment booking engine for patients, a portal for referring providers, and an API for digital health partners, available in both the UK and the USA. This streamlined approach has reduced waiting times and improved patient care outcomes, with results delivered to patients in as little as a week.
In 2021, Scan.com received support from Aviva when it joined Aviva’s innovation partner Founders Factory as part of their accelerator programme. This further boosted the company’s growth trajectory. Scan.com successfully raised $2 million in seed funding in 2021, co-led by Oxford Capital and YZR, with backing from notable angel investors such as Tom Blomfield (ex-Monzo) and Evelyn Bourke (ex-BUPA). This allowed Scan.com to operate full-time and expand its team to 30 members across the UK and the US.
Continuing its momentum, Scan.com secured a subsequent $2.2 million extension in funding in 2022 led by Triple Point Ventures, further fueling its growth and expansion efforts. With its mission to make medical imaging accessible for everyone, Scan.com has become a leading player in the medical imaging services industry, providing innovative solutions and improving patient care experiences.
Providing opportunities to scaling companies
Speaking about the raised capital support in Aviva Ventures, Ben Luckett, Chief Innovation Officer at Aviva, said:
“Innovation is central to Aviva’s strategy and our ambition to deliver great outcomes for our customers. The $185 million commitment to Aviva Ventures will be used to make early stage investments in promising young digital and tech firms that also provide us with insight on emerging technology and consumer trends.
“Our investment in Scan.com is a statement of our intent – they are growing rapidly, have a unique customer proposition and are already leading the way on medical imaging services in the UK. We are really excited to support Scan.com’s development and growth.”
Charlie Bullock, co-founder and CEO of Scan.com, added: “We are thrilled to have such strong support from Aviva as we continue to build Scan.com across the UK. The capital will be used to continue to improve access to diagnostic imaging and medical screening exams, through our consumer facing marketplace and application programming interfaces (API). This round would not have been possible without the incredible effort and tenacity shown by our entire team, who have built Scan.com at such a fast pace in what is traditionally a very slow-moving industry.”
