H1 secures $40M from CVS, proving SaaS startups can still attract investment

H1 获得 CVS 4000 万美元投资，证明 SaaS 初创公司仍具融资吸引力

It’s no secret that pre-AI era startups are generally getting little love from investors now. Ariel Katz, co-founder and CEO of a nine-year-old healthcare data platform H1, argues that not all SaaS companies should be painted with the same broad brush. 众所周知，在人工智能时代到来之前成立的初创公司，目前普遍难以获得投资者的青睐。拥有九年历史的医疗数据平台 H1 的联合创始人兼首席执行官 Ariel Katz 认为，不能一概而论地看待所有 SaaS 公司。

“If you’re a workflow SaaS company, you could vibe code that,” he told TechCrunch. What AI cannot easily replicate, according to Katz, is a company that is a data provider at its core. That’s a self-serving viewpoint — H1’s entire business is built on selling detailed information about doctors to pharma companies, hospital systems, and health insurers — but it doesn’t mean he is wrong. “如果你是一家工作流 SaaS 公司，你可能很容易被 AI 取代，”他告诉 TechCrunch。Katz 认为，AI 难以轻易复制的是那些以数据提供为核心业务的公司。虽然这是一种带有自我推销色彩的观点——H1 的全部业务都建立在向制药公司、医院系统和健康保险公司出售医生详细信息的基础上——但这并不意味着他是错的。

“I don’t worry about Claude ever doing what we do,” Katz said, referring to Anthropic’s popular AI model. He thinks that the data H1 collects on physicians globally could actually be so valuable to AI model makers that they are more likely to become customers than competitors. “我不担心 Claude 会取代我们的工作，”Katz 在提到 Anthropic 热门 AI 模型时说道。他认为，H1 在全球范围内收集的医生数据对 AI 模型开发商来说极具价值，他们更有可能成为 H1 的客户，而非竞争对手。

CVS Health Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of the CVS/Aetna health giant, must agree that H1 is in no danger of becoming a victim of the “SaaSocalypse.” The investor just led a $40 million round into H1. 医疗巨头 CVS/Aetna 旗下的企业风险投资部门 CVS Health Ventures 显然认同 H1 不会成为“SaaS 灾难”（SaaSocalypse）的受害者。该机构刚刚领投了 H1 的 4000 万美元融资。

H1 wasn’t looking to raise capital, Katz said. The startup turned cash flow and EBITDA profitable last year and is forecasting to grow over 40% this year. But the partnership with one of the largest healthcare companies in the world was hard to refuse, Katz said. Katz 表示，H1 本并无融资需求。这家初创公司去年已实现现金流和 EBITDA（息税折旧摊销前利润）盈利，并预计今年增长将超过 40%。但 Katz 坦言，与全球最大的医疗保健公司之一建立合作伙伴关系，是难以拒绝的诱惑。

Despite the strong financial fundamentals, companies like H1 aren’t exciting for traditional VCs who are currently consumed with backing AI startups at skyrocketing valuations. H1 was last valued at $750 million when it raised $100 million in funding led by Altimeter Capital at the height of the Covid-era tech bubble in November of 2021. 尽管财务基本面强劲，但像 H1 这样的公司对于传统的风险投资机构来说并不“性感”，因为他们目前正忙于以飙升的估值追捧 AI 初创公司。H1 上一次估值是在 2021 年 11 月，当时在新冠疫情时期的科技泡沫顶峰，由 Altimeter Capital 领投了 1 亿美元。

Like other companies that secured capital just before valuations plummeted in 2022, H1 has focused on becoming profitable. The startup has also grown through acquiring smaller competitors and complementary businesses. 与其他在 2022 年估值暴跌前获得融资的公司一样，H1 此后一直专注于实现盈利。此外，该公司还通过收购规模较小的竞争对手和互补业务来实现增长。