Papa

What Papa does

Papa, Inc. is a Miami-headquartered, venture-backed private company founded in 2017 by Andrew Parker. It operates a tech-enabled companion care platform that connects older adults and families with a national network of vetted, independent-contractor caregivers known as Papa Pals. Papa Pals deliver non-medical support including companionship, transportation, errands, help around the house, and technology assistance, either in person or telephonically. As of the latest disclosures, the network comprises 15,000+ Papa Pals serving members across 40+ U.S. states and more than 10,000 cities, with a 97% visit fulfillment rate and 99.8% incident-free visits.

The underlying platform combines a Papa Pal mobile app (iOS/Android), a Papa Care member mobile app, a passwordless web member portal, proprietary social needs assessments, eligibility file analysis, and structured engagement-pathway playbooks. Supporting technology includes real-time geolocation visit monitoring, Noonlight-powered in-app emergency support, comprehensive background screening across 3,300+ government sources, TSA-style identity verification, and HIPAA Business Associate compliance. The product portfolio consists of a core Companion Care offering, a Flexible Family Care benefit for employers, and six configurable add-on modules: Papa Plus (outcome-based quality programs), Post-Discharge Support, Care Gap Closure, Digital Enablement, Health Risk Assessment, and Fall Risk Prevention.

Papa generates revenue primarily through recurring managed-services contracts with Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and Special Needs Health Plans (B2B2C), with secondary revenue from employer corporate wellness programs sold through brokers, consultants, and TPAs. Papa Plus, launched in March 2026, introduces outcome-based pricing with fees at risk to guarantee health plan ROI. Pricing for health plan and employer contracts is not publicly disclosed and is customized by population, geography, and outcomes. As of November 2021, Papa had raised $240 million in cumulative venture capital, including a $150 million Series D led by SoftBank Vision Fund, reaching unicorn status at a $1.4 billion valuation. Investors include SoftBank, Canaan Partners, Tiger Global, Initialized Capital, Comcast Ventures, Seven Seven Six, and Trusted Capital Group.

Name

Papa

Legal name

Papa, Inc.

Website

https://papa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Papa is a Miami-based, venture-backed platform that connects older adults and families with a nationwide network of 15,000+ vetted companion caregivers (Papa Pals) for non-medical in-home support, serving Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, Special Needs Health Plans, and employer customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Companion Care Services

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Home Health Care Services (8082), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Companion Care & Social Support (non-clinical) (HLADAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Companionship & Social Engagement Visits (HSABAAAA), Conversation, Cognitive Stimulation & Activity Facilitation (HSABAAAB), Social, Community & Senior Center Outings Transport (HSABAOAG)

Keywords

• Companion care services
• In-home social support
• Health plan benefits
• Senior companionship platform
• Corporate family care

Headquarters

HQ city

Miami

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. B2B Health Plan Contracts: Recurring contracts with Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and Special Needs Health Plans. Health plans pay Papa to provide companion care services to their eligible members; Papa manages a nationwide network of Papa Pals to deliver in-person and telephonic visits.
2. B2B Employer Corporate Wellness Programs: Recurring contracts with employers who offer Papa as a benefit to employees and their families (elder care, child care, pet care, errands, recovery support, etc.). Papa works with employers, brokerages, consultants, and TPAs.
3. Papa Plus Outcome-Based Fees: Papa Plus integrates companion care with targeted quality programs, transforming in-home support into a direct, outcomes-oriented engagement channel for health plans. Papa puts fees at risk to guarantee ROI for health plan partners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion5 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Papa operates a tech-enabled social care platform that connects health plan members and employees with a national network of 15,000+ vetted "Papa Pals" who provide non-medical companion care—including transportation, errands, help around the house, social interaction, technology assistance, and post-discharge support—delivered in person or telephonically across 10,000+ U.S. cities. Its Papa Plus offering bundles companion care with structured quality programs for health plans, with outcome-based fees. The Papa Pal mobile app and Papa Care member portal/manage bookings, while an in-house Care Center delivers a 97% visit-fulfillment rate.

Product overview

Papa operates an integrated in-home support platform that combines a national network of vetted companion caregivers ("Papa Pals") with proprietary social-care technology. The foundation is Companion Care (Core Companionship), configurable for Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and Special Needs health plans and offered as Flexible Family Care to employers. Sitting on top of that core are six configurable add-on modules — Papa Plus, Post-Discharge Support, Care Gap Closure, Digital Enablement, Health Risk Assessment (HRA), and Fall Risk Prevention — each addressing specific quality, utilization, and engagement objectives for health plan clients. The platform is delivered through the Papa Pal app (for caregivers), the Papa Care app (for employee members), and a passwordless Online Member Portal (for health plan members), all backed by an in-house Care Center, proprietary social needs assessments, and reporting dashboards for clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Papa Plus: New model integrating companion care with targeted quality programs to help health plans engage members and drive measurable outcomes with a guaranteed ROI.
• Papa Pals
• Grandkids on Demand
• Papa Doc
• Papa Health

Products and services

• Papa Platform The underlying technology and operations platform powering all Papa offerings. Comprises a national network of vetted Papa Pals, a best-in-class technology stack (Papa Pal app, member portal, reporting dashboards), an in-house Care Center, and technology-enabled engagement pathways functioning as playbooks for health plan quality objectives. Sold to health plans and employers as Papa's enterprise foundation.
• Companion Care (Core Companionship) Papa's legacy and flagship companion care model providing personalized, hyper-local non-medical support on a national scale. Vetted Papa Pals address social needs including rides to the grocery store or pharmacy, help around the house, social interaction, and companionship. Available in person or telephonically to Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, Special Needs Health Plan, and employer-sponsored members.
• Flexible Family Care (Papa for Employers) Corporate wellness program offering companion care as a benefit to employees and their families. Papa Pals provide help for aging or ill loved ones, children, pets, or the employee themselves—including homework help, light housework, errands, and transportation. Sold to employers, brokerages, consultants, and TPAs.
• Papa Plus Integrates companion care with targeted quality programs to transform in-home support into a direct, outcomes-oriented engagement channel for health plans. Papa Pals deliver member-directed support while also supporting plan-directed tasks to drive measurable outcomes across quality ratings, utilization, satisfaction, and retention. Fees are put at risk to guarantee ROI for health plan partners.
• Post-Discharge Support

Quantifiable outcome

• 9% reduction in medical costs (Medicare Advantage)
• +13 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered operational integration, core operational partner and core safety integration.

• Lyftoperational integrationTechnology or IntegrationPapa acts as a conduit between members and Lyft (alongside Uber) for transportation services. Papa communicates with designated drivers, vets them and their equipment, and monitors rides on the user's behalf.
• Uberoperational integrationTechnology or IntegrationPapa acts as a conduit between members and Uber (alongside Lyft) for transportation services. Papa communicates with designated drivers, vets them and their equipment, and monitors rides on the user's behalf.
• Stripeoperational integrationTechnology or IntegrationPapa uses Stripe (along with other third-party services) to process payments. Stripe's separate terms of service govern the payment processing relationship.
• The Purple Methodcore operational partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Purple Method co-developed the comprehensive learning program that all Papa Pals must complete prior to taking any visits on the platform. Papa highlights this partnership in its Trust & Safety communications and joint media coverage.
• Noonlightcore safety integrationTechnology or IntegrationNoonlight powers Papa's in-app Emergency Support feature. Papa Pals can request emergency assistance with a single click in the app and receive a response within 15 seconds from trained agents, supplementing the option to call 911.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• CareLinx: CareLinx is a nationwide digital marketplace connecting families with professional in-home caregivers for seniors and adults with disabilities, including companionship, errands, and personal care. It targets health plans and employers similarly to Papa and is one of the most direct competitive analogs.
• Honor Technology: Honor operates a tech-enabled in-home care platform matching vetted caregivers with older adults for non-medical and personal care, very similar to Papa's companion care model. Both are venture-backed, two-sided marketplaces selling to health plans and families, and compete directly for the same MA/Medicaid-funded populations.
• Homethrive: Homethrive provides tech-enabled family caregiver support and companion care to health plan members, combining virtual coaching with in-person help for older adults. It sells into MA plans and employers in the same buyer personas as Papa, making it a direct peer in the family-caregiver support category.

Broad incumbents

• Best Buy Health (Lively / Current Health): Best Buy Health offers aging-in-place technology, remote monitoring, and care concierge services (Lively) for older adults, with health plan partnerships. It overlaps with Papa on tech-enabled engagement for seniors, though it leans more on hardware and monitoring than human companions.
• Uber Health: Uber Health provides non-emergency medical transportation and care-related ride services to health plans, providers, and employers — overlapping with Papa's transportation and errand support. Papa integrates with Uber but competes with it where health plans source ride-only services directly.
• Optum / UnitedHealth Group (HouseCalls, NaviHealth): Optum/UHG operates in-home assessment and post-acute care programs (HouseCalls, NaviHealth) for MA members — a much larger incumbent that increasingly bundles social and in-home support into its own platform, competing with Papa for the same MA budget dollars.
• Humana CenterWell (SeniorBridge, Kindred at Home): Humana's CenterWell senior-focused care segment delivers primary care, home health, and personal care services to MA members. As the largest MA-focused payer-provider, it represents the most significant vertically integrated competitive threat to Papa's health plan channel.
• Lyft Healthcare: Lyft Healthcare offers non-emergency medical transportation and rideshare for older adults and health plan members, similar to Uber Health. Papa uses Lyft as a backend but competes with it for transportation-centric supplemental benefits on health plan RFPs.

Emerging players

• Ianacare (now part of Homethrive): Ianacare (now part of Homethrive) provided a family caregiver benefits platform sold to employers and health plans, supporting working caregivers of older adults. It is highly comparable to Papa's employer/employee family-care benefit and is now consolidated within Homethrive.
• WellBeSenior (WellBe.ai): WellBeSenior offers a digital health and social-support platform aimed at older adults and MA plans, with overlapping focus on social determinants of health and member engagement. Smaller and earlier stage than Papa but directly comparable in buyer and use case.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat8 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/join_papa
• YouTubeyoutube.com/PapaInc
• Facebookfacebook.com/joinpapa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/papainc
• Instagraminstagram.com/join_papa

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors16 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Papa