Subscription-based dental hygiene startup Quip has raised $40 million in an equity and debt round of funding, with early Airbnb and Uber investor Sherpa Capital leading the equity element and TriplePoint Capital contributing the debt.
Founded out of New York in 2014, Quip offers a number of subscription services around oral health care — including modular electric brushes and toothpaste — that require an up-front payment, followed by quarterly refills starting at $5. The company also offers a number of prepay deals that charge more up front in exchange for free refills for the year, and it has been expanding into services such as Dental Connect, which offers access to a network of thousands of dental care providers across the U.S.
Above: Quip brush
Quip had previously raised around $22 million, including a $10 million series A round last year and a $10 million debt follow-up from Silicon Valley Bank earlier this year. With another $40 million in the bank, the company said it plans to launch new consumer products and dental care services.
“My cofounder Bill May and I built Quip with the vision to create a full-service oral care platform that serves every oral care need, from the products our members use everyday, to the professional care services they require at least twice a year,” said Quip CEO and cofounder Simon Enever. “We’ve been working closely with our full-time dental professional staff and ever-expanding provider network to make the full range of dental products and professional care services more simple, accessible, and enjoyable to more people. Our momentum is extremely strong, and this additional funding will allow us to further scale the business while investing more into growing our operations and talented team.”
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There is seemingly big demand for online subscription services across the health care and hygiene industries. Earlier this year, beauty-in-a-box startup Birchbox sold a majority stake to one of its hedge fund investors, while in 2016 Unilever acquired on-demand toiletry service Dollar Shave Club for around $1 billion.
Quip now claims more than 1 million customers — defined as anyone who has bought at least one toothbrush — since it launched in late 2015, and it recently announced a tie-up with Target to sell its products through the retail giant’s brick-and-mortar stores.
