Babylon, From $2B Valuation to Bankruptcy

Babylon Health, the London-based telehealth start-up, once valued at nearly $2B and backed by notable entities like DeepMind, has hit a rough patch.

• State of Babylon: The company's U.S operations have recently turned insolvent, rendering its U.S shares worthless. Babylon Health's UK subsidiary has entered administration and sold a significant portion of its assets to eMed Healthcare UK, a new subsidiary of the American company, eMed. Babylon Healthcare Services Limited, the segment eMed is purchasing, includes a large share of Babylon's remaining assets, including a preventive telehealth practice serving around 700,000 people in the UK.

• 2021: Babylon made plans to enter the U.S market with a SPAC plan over $4B in 2021. However, growing concerns about the company's patient safety and corporate governance practices loomed in the background. Despite these issues, Babylon secured a 10-year deal to develop an app and health services for the city of Wolverhampton prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• 2022: The company started to struggle after losing significant contracts, including the NHS deal with Wolverhampton.

• 2023: Babylon was seeking a buyer, and Swiss health tech start-up MindMaze emerged as a potential contender. There was a drastic decline in Babylon's shares that led to their delisting from the New York Stock Exchange. Acquisition talks with MindMaze fell through.

• What Now: Babylon found itself on a precarious path, filing for Chapter 7 insolvency for its U.S. business, while its UK operations hung in the balance, teetering on the edge of bankruptcy until eventually plunging into financial downfall.

While the future of Babylon's acquired business remains uncertain under eMed, it is currently operational. eMed, formerly a start-up itself, looks to be focusing on providing remote telehealth services for managing tests, assessments, and prescriptions for various health issues.