USA’s Plenful Bags $17 Mn Series A Funding

Plenful's AI-driven workflow automation platform aims to address the significant labor challenges and administrative bottlenecks in pharmacy and healthcare operations. 

US-based Plenful, a startup focused on automating pharmacy operations, has recently secured $17 million in Series A funding. 

The funding round was led by TQ Ventures with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Mitchell Rales (cofounder and chairman of Danaher), Susa Ventures, and existing investors. 

This brings Plenful's total funding to $25 million, following a $9 million investment last October.

Plenful's AI-driven workflow automation platform aims to address the significant labor challenges and administrative bottlenecks in pharmacy and healthcare operations. 

Sharing insights, Joy Liu, CEO and founder of Plenful, said, “We aim to empower pharmacy and healthcare teams with tools that alleviate the burden of manual administrative tasks, allowing them to focus on what matters most—providing exceptional patient care and empowering their staff.”

Funding Allocation

The fresh infusion of funds will support Plenful in enhancing its infrastructure and developing its products further. 

Reportedly, the startup’s key focus will be expanding the use of substantial machine-learning language models to improve customer experiences.

Plenful's technology aims to reduce manual work by up to 97% and uncover significant cost savings for pharmacies. The platform optimizes inventory planning, detects rate discrepancies, monitors shortages and waste, and forecasts inventory demand. It also automates data entry processes, making operations more efficient.

Plenful addresses the pressing issues within pharmacy operations. The startup aims to modernize pharmacy operations through advanced automation and artificial intelligence. Furthermore, the startup's platform offers several applications, including 340B auditing, financial reporting, and referral management. 

Liu, a former finance executive turned healthcare executive, noted the excessive manual administrative work pharmacists face. 

“I was spending five days a week within the four walls of health systems' specialty pharmacies, working alongside pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and clinicians, and it was eye-opening to me how much manual administrative work was burdening not just myself but also our team members,” she stated.

The platform's no-code software integrates with both unstructured and structured data sources, offering high configureability. This technology allows pharmacy technicians to automate routine tasks, freeing them to focus on more critical, patient-centered activities. “We aim to create the best possible, seamless experience for customers,” Liu added.

Insight into Plenful's Expansion

Plenful's platform is already used by over 25 customers, including Tampa General Hospital, Renown Health, Salinas Valley Health, and Blue Cross Blue Shield. Clement Miller, chief operating officer at Salinas Valley Health, praised the platform's impact. 

“Our organization has greatly benefited from Plenful's automated software, which has streamlined the oversight of our 340B program. Their team members who supported our go-live efforts were knowledgeable, responsive, and attentive to our organization's needs. I recommend Plenful to any organization seeking to leverage machine learning to sustain and advance their 340B program,” Miller said.

The US healthcare system faces nearly $1 trillion in manual and administrative labor costs, exacerbated by post-COVID labor shortages and declining pharmacist graduation rates. Plenful's automation solutions aim to alleviate some of these pressures, making healthcare operations more sustainable and efficient.

Commenting on the same, Andrew Marks, partner and cofounder at TQ Ventures, said, “We invested in Plenful because of their team, their deep understanding of customer pain points, their strong progress and execution, and their vision for a better healthcare system. As a venture capital firm that backs founders building the future, we believe Plenful represents the future of pharmacy and healthcare operations.”

Founded in 2021 by Joy Liu and Joy Patel, Plenful is a no-code workflow automation and AI platform that optimizes healthcare's manual and administrative workflows. 

The startup optimizes healthcare and pharmacy operations through intelligent workflow automation, data configuration and centralization, and machine learning.