NEW YORK, NY., September 12, 2024 — Lightsmith Group (“Lightsmith”), a global sustainable private equity firm focused on resilience to climate change, announced its investment in Beep Saúde (“Beep” or the “Company”), the leading in-home digital health company in Brazil that makes healthcare climate resilient through the delivery of rapidly responsive, in-home vaccinations and diagnostics. Lightsmith led a $15 million Series C-1 investment round, with participation from existing investors Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (“CZI”) and David Velez, founder and CEO of Nubank.
Founded in 2016, Beep Saúde provides in-home vaccinations and diagnostic exams to patients in the Brazilian States of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and the Federal District, and has visited more than 1 million households to date. The Company is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and has over 1,000 employees today. Lightsmith’s investment will enable the Company to continue expanding its technology-enabled offering of rapidly-responsive at-home vaccinations, diagnostics, and infusion therapies. As part of this investment, Lightsmith’s Jay Koh will join Beep’s Board of Directors.
Climate change has increasingly impacted human health through increased deaths from heatwaves, greater respiratory illness from wildfires, and the spread of vector- and water-borne diseases from flooding events.[1] According to the IPCC, climate change has “adversely affected human physical health globally”.[2] Expanding access to vaccines, diagnostics, and rapidly responsive healthcare is critical to protecting human health in a climate-impacted world. Brazil, for example, has become increasingly vulnerable to dengue fever, Zika, and chikungunya, as climate change-driven higher temperatures, increased rainfall, and deforestation have led to the proliferation of disease-carrying mosquitos. According to the World Health Organization, Brazil registered 82% of probable dengue cases in the world in 2024 with over 6 million suspected cases through May 2024 alone.[3],[4]
Beep Saúde is the leading digitally-accessible, rapidly responsive, at-home health services platform in Brazil, having delivered care to patients in over 1 million homes since its inception. Beep’s unique technology and customer-focused heathcare provider network enabled it to respond to the surge in climate-driven dengue fever by providing over 22,000 doses of dengue vaccinations so far in 2024 alone. Beep also provides vaccinations and diagnostic tests for other diseases such as yellow fever, chikungunya, Zika, influenza, pneumonia, and COVID-19, which are also impacted by climate change according to the IPCC.[5]
“Climate risk is health risk. Beep Saúde provides digital access to in-home vaccination, diagnostics, infusions, and other health services that can rapidly respond to changing healthcare needs made increasingly complex by climate change,” comments Jay Koh, Managing Director at the Lightsmith Group. “We are excited to partner with Dr. Vander Corteze and the world-class team at Beep, as well as Beep’s existing investors. Beep has proven that technology can provide rapidly responsive, patient-centered healthcare at home that can address the increasing effects of climate change. We look forward to helping Beep scale its impact and its business as a critical tool to addressing the health impacts from climate change.”
“Beep is the future of healthcare: patient-centric, digital, rapidly-responsive, at-home. With our relentless focus on improving the patient experience through innovation, Beep is uniquely positioned to address the health impacts of climate change by delivering high-quality healthcare whenever and wherever it is needed,” says Dr. Vander Corteze, Founder and CEO of Beep. “Beep is excited to have Lightsmith, a global investor focused on climate and sustainability, join our mission as a value-add partner, investor, and board member in this new stage of the company’s growth, as we continue to build the leading digital platform for at-home healthcare services in Brazil.”
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About Lightsmith Group
The Lightsmith Group is a sustainable private equity firm that invests in companies that address critical societal needs. Lightsmith invests in growth-stage companies providing technology-enabled business services and solutions in the areas of energy, water, food and agriculture, and climate resilience. For more information on The Lightsmith Group, please see: www.lightsmithgp.com.
About Beep Saúde
Beep Saúde is the largest home healthcare company in Brazil. Specializing in laboratory tests and vaccine administration, the company has already served over 1 million households across the country. Beep began its operations in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and today also operates in São Paulo and Brasília, with a fleet of more than 400 vehicles and a team of over 1,000 full-time employees. For more information on Beep Saúde, please see: https://beepsaude.com.br/.
[1] Field, C.B., L.D. Mortsch,, M. Brklacich, D.L. Forbes, P. Kovacs, J.A. Patz, S.W. Running and M.J. Scott, 2007: North America. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani, J.P. Palutikof, P.J. van der Linden and C.E. Hanson, Eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 617-652.
[2] IPCC, 2023: Sections. In: Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, H. Lee and J. Romero (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, pp. 35-115, doi: 10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647
[3] Viapiana, T. (2024, June 5). Brazil registered 82% of Global Dengue Cases in 2024: Who. Brazil Reports. https://brazilreports.com/brazil-registered-82-of-global-dengue-cases-in-2024-who/6196/
[4] World Health Organization. (2024, May 30). Dengue – global situation. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2024-DON518#:~:text=In%202024%2C%20Brazil%20is%20the,(199%20659%20suspected%20cases)
[5] Cissé, G., R. McLeman, H. Adams, P. Aldunce, K. Bowen, D. Campbell-Lendrum, S. Clayton, K.L. Ebi, J. Hess, C. Huang, Q. Liu, G. McGregor, J. Semenza, and M.C. Tirado, 2022: Health, Wellbeing, and the Changing Structure of Communities. In: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, pp. 1041–1170, doi:10.1017/9781009325844.009.
