CHAPEL HILL – Well, a personal health startup with home offices in Chapel Hill and Newton, Mass., has been on a fast track of development with the pandemic driving more attetntion to remote health services and the search for information about COVID-19. And backing the year-old firm is well-known Silicon Valley venture capitalist John Doerr.

Describing itself and its app as “Your all-in-one health guide,” Well disclosed Monday that it had closed on $40 million in first-round funding.

The close follows a $25 million seed funding round last year.

Well logo

“By leveraging member health data and applying proprietary analytics and clinical expertise, we deliver daily health recommendations and a wide offering of compelling rewards to encourage our members to take action to improve their health,” said Gary Loveman, co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Well, in the funding announcement.

“We are encouraged by the high level of engagement our members have with the platform and the health journeys and actions available to them, particularly amid the disruption caused by COVID-19. Our latest round of funding will allow us to continue to invest in our people and technology as we expand our user base, content and the breadth of the offering.”

Loveman is a former executive vice president of Consumer Health Services at Aetna “where he led transformative efforts in the areas of consumer, data, analytics, marketing, pharmacy and clinical,” Well says in his bio.

He also has served Chairman and CEO of Caesar’s Entertainment Company.

Well is riding a rising tide of interest.

The telehealth market is exploding in value, projected to grow some 25% a year from $61 billion in 2019, according to Fortune Business Insights. 

Well combines artificial intelligence along with what it calls “multi-disciplinary teams of health guides to deliver personalized health guidance.”

The aim is to improve members’ health and to cut healthcare costs for employers.

Investors other than Doeer include General Catalyst, Mosaic Health Solutions, and cofounders Loveman and David Werry.

“Combining a high quality, interactive user interface with deep healthcare expertise, the Well platform empowers members to take charge of their health in a cost-effective way, resulting in improved engagement and outcomes,” said Ken Chenault, chairman of General Catalyst and former chairman and CEO of American Express, about Well.