Noom offers a weight-loss program that combines with a behavioral approach.

In a January interview, Saeju Jeong, co-founder and CEO of Noom, said there is a new, COVID-triggered trend of people seeking to lead a healthier lifestyle that includes the mind and body both. That figures, because during Covid-19, in 2020, Noom doubled its 2019 revenues of $200 million. And today, it announced a monster, $540 million Series F round led by Silver Lake. (BusinessWire)

According to Bloomberg, which quoted informed sources, the round valued the weight-loss startup at $3.7 billion. Other new investors participating in the round included Oak HC/FT, Temasek, and Novo Holdings. Existing investors Sequoia Capital, RRE, and Samsung Ventures also participated.

Bloomberg further said Noom could be planning to go public in a year at a valuation of about $10 billion, and that the company has already met with advisors.

Use of funds

According to dietician Michele Smallidge, who is program director of the Bachelor of Science Program in Exercise Science at the University of New Haven in Connecticut, many Americans added an extra five to 10 pounds over the nine months of the pandemic to December 2020 because they stopped commuting to work and increasingly turned to food and alcohol to manage stress.

Noom addresses this problem in a more long-term and sustainable way. Its Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a goal-oriented psychotherapy treatment that helps people understand and combat the things that trigger negative thoughts, compulsive actions, and unwelcome consequences, helps to back up calorie control and exercises with mental resolve.

Now Noom intends to expand the scope of its “behavior-changing platform” beyond weight loss to stress and anxiety, diabetes, hypertension, and sleep.

Additional uses of the funds include expansion into new territories, employee benefit programs, and share repurchases.

“Most people want to eat healthier, exercise more, be less stressed, and get better sleep, but it’s not easy to change these behaviors,” said Jeong in a statement. “This strategic round of funding reflects our investors’ confidence in the immense opportunity we have in building a business around helping as many people as possible live healthier lives through behavior change.”

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