To improve the prior authorization process

Following its $226 million Series A financing round, health tech startup Olive has agreed to acquire artificial intelligence developer Verata Health.

Olive’s AI-as-a-service approach connects disparate systems within healthcare to deliver targeted information to healthcare workers to reduce the time spent on administrative tasks.

Meanwhile Verata develops AI-based systems for “frictionless” prior authorization – the process used by some health insurance companies in the US to determine if they will cover a prescribed procedure, service, or medication.

Fix what is broke

"A broken healthcare system is one of the biggest challenges humanity faces today and prior authorization issues in particular are costing our nation billions of dollars,” said Sean Lane, CEO of Olive.

“After partnering with Verata earlier this year, we saw incredible potential for Verata's technology to reduce the amount of time and money spent on prior authorizations, and to eliminate delays in patient care. This acquisition allows Olive to accelerate innovation in areas where we can drive the biggest impact, and further expands our solutions to providers and payers seeking to transform healthcare."

Olive has raised $448 million since 2012, including $385 million in the last nine months, giving it a current valuation of $1.5 billion.

The latest funding round was led by Tiger Global with participation from existing investors General Catalyst, Drive Capital, and Silicon Valley Bank along with new investors GV, Sequoia Capital Global Equities, Dragoneer Investment Group, and Transformation Capital Partners.

Olive estimates that adding Verata's combined prior authorization solution will reduce write-offs by at least 40% and cut turnaround time for prior authorizations by up to 80%.

"We started Verata to have an impact on patients and providers across the country,” said Jeremy Friese, Verata CEO and former Mayo physician executive. “Combining our AI solution with Olive's creates the leading platform to solve prior authorization on both ends of the fax machine, at providers and payers to drive impact for millions of patients."

Following the acquisition, more than 60 Verata employees will join Olive, raising Olive's total employee count to 500.