Optum and Audax Health Solutions, Inc., today announced that Optum has
acquired a majority stake in Audax.
Since its founding in 2010, Audax has quickly attracted widespread
interest in its technology that enables consumers to better manage their
health. Through strategic partnerships with health plans, distribution
partners, employers, care providers and condition-management companies,
alongside integration with wearables companies like Fitbit, Polar,
Withings and BodyMedia, Audax has swiftly gained market share, providing
millions of users with its innovative, consumer-centric digital
offering. Optum plans to expand Audax’s offerings to more broadly
support consumers’ need for integrated benefit selection, wellness and
health care administration.
“Since day one, our vision at Audax has been to positively impact the
way consumers manage their health. Today, we took a huge step toward
achieving that goal,” said Grant Verstandig, CEO and founder of Audax.
“Joining with Optum, especially with its unmatched depth of experience
and resources, accelerates our momentum, providing the additional reach
and scale required to meaningfully advance health care more rapidly.”
“Optum and Audax share the common goals of improving health care and
making the health system work better, and we believe the combination of
our skills and experience serving people across virtually every health
care channel can help us reach those goals faster,” said David Wichmann,
UnitedHealth Group CFO. “The shareholders, customers, leadership and
employees of Audax are already making compelling contributions to
managing health. We are committed to supporting the ongoing efforts of
the Audax team to engage consumers in taking better control of their
health.”
John Sculley, Audax investor and board member, said, “Optum’s investment
in Audax is evidence that a new era of consumer engagement and
innovation can be the turning point that sets a new trajectory for
global health care services.”
Audax will operate as a freestanding investment of Optum, serving
multiple independent market channels, led by its founder and CEO Grant
Verstandig and President and COO David Ko.
About Optum
Optum is a leading information and
technology-enabled health services business dedicated to helping make
the health system work better for everyone. With more than 50,000 people
worldwide, Optum delivers intelligent, integrated solutions that help to
modernize the health system and improve overall population health. Optum
is part of the UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH).
About Audax
Founded in 2010, Audax believes that consumers
can and should be active participants in managing their own health.
Audax has and will continue to enjoy the support and investment from a
diverse and prestigious Board including John Sculley, former CEO of
Apple, Jack Rowe, former CEO of Aetna, Dr. Richard Klausner, Chief
Medical Officer at Illumina and David Ko, former COO of Zynga and
President and COO of Audax. For more information, please visit www.audaxhealth.com.
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Copyright Business Wire 2014