Quip Raises $ 40 Million for Dental Products and Services – TechCrunch

Quip, The dental start-up, which started selling electric toothbrushes directly to consumers, raised $ 40 million. The money comes in the form of equity and debt financing, with about half of the financing as part of a stock transaction by Sherpa Capital and the other half as debt financing of Triplepoint Capital.

"I think the combination of debt and equity is good for us," said Simon Enever, Quip's CEO, at TechCrunch. "It is more attractive than ever to find other types of financing."

Alternative types of financing, for example, allow founders to avoid conditions that are not user-friendly for founders, as well as to raise additional funds that they could not obtain from traditional investors.

That was a few months after Quip teamed up with Target to sell its products and about six months after Quip raised $ 10 million from Silicon Valley Bank and acquired Afora, a New York-based startup offering an alternative to traditional dental insurance.

"This is another big year of growth in general for us," said Enever. "We have recently taken an important step: our millionth brusher."

With the new financing in hand, Quip has many upcoming product launches and services, said Enever. It would not go into details, but Enever said the company had already run the first phase – electric toothbrushes and toothpaste – that it was time to develop new offers.

"We are excited to begin offering more products and services to our members. In the new year, you will discover some new physical products that expand daily home care, "he said.

Again, the details are limited, but one could consider products such as flossing, teeth whitening, mouthwash and chewing gum. According to Enever, given Quip's relationship with its dental providers, clients also requested less expensive visits to the dentist.

"For patients, we want to help them in all areas – this comprehensive oral hygiene routine," said Enever. 'On the other hand, for the providers, Quip's interest lies in the construction of this large digital platform filled with impatient patients. We started Quip because people did not care about their oral health or came to the dentist when a tooth was falling or was hurting. "

This week, Quip is launching a practice program for dental service providers to provide an inexpensive way to offer Quip's products to their patients. Quip also plans to use the funds to expand its workforce and increase its number of subscribers.