The Helper Bees

Cover Block

Attribute	Value
Company Name	The Helper Bees
Tagline	An aging-in-place platform connecting insurers with a provider network for non-medical in-home services.
Headquarters	Austin, United States
Founded	2015
Stage	Series C
Business Model	B2B
Industry	Insurtech
Technology	Software (Non-AI)
Geography	North America
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Solo Founder
Funding Label	Undisclosed
Total Disclosed Funding	$76 million (estimated)

Links

• Website: https://www.thehelperbees.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thehelperbees

The Short Version

The Helper Bees operates a B2B software platform that connects long-term care insurers and Medicare Advantage plans with a national network of providers for non-medical, in-home services, aiming to reduce claims costs and administrative overhead while enabling older adults to age in place [Afore Ventures, May 2023-2024 timeframe]. Founded in 2015 by Char Hu, Danny Lynch, and Eric Corum, the company emerged from the founders' direct experience in senior living and home health, with CEO Char Hu's background in molecular biophysics and prior ventures in Alzheimer's care facilities informing the clinical and operational model [Come to the Problem as a Learner (wsg Char Hu) - EP43, CGS Advisors, 2020].

The core product differentiates by managing the entire claims and provider management lifecycle for aging-in-place benefits [The Helper Bees: Why We Invested, IMPACT ENGINE, 2022]. Its 2021 acquisition of healthAlign provided a direct entry into the Medicare Advantage market, and the 2025 launch of a flexible spending card, helpful™, signals an expansion into managing supplemental benefit dollars [BusinessWire, 2021] [thehelperbees.com, 2025]. The business model is built on enterprise contracts with payers, a model that has supported growth to an estimated 300-plus employees and a reported 200% revenue increase in 2020 [BusinessWire, 2020] [LeadIQ, 2026].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Core company description, founding story, and key business developments are confirmed by multiple independent sources including BusinessWire, investor publications, and executive profiles.

The Company in Brief

The Helper Bees was founded in Austin, Texas in 2015 by Char Hu, Danny Lynch, and Eric Corum, with the stated mission of enabling older adults to live independently at home [BusinessWire, 2020]. CEO Char Hu had previously co-founded a certified Alzheimer’s facility and a Medicare-accredited home health agency, while Eric Corum was a co-founder of the same senior living entities [CGS Advisors, 2020].

Key operational milestones trace a path from a local service provider to a national, payer-focused platform. The company reported a significant growth inflection during the pandemic, scaling from 23 employees to 140 within five weeks in early 2020 [fintech.global, 2020]. That same year, it secured a $6 million Series A funding round, grew revenue by 200%, and facilitated home care for 12,500 families [BusinessWire, 2020]. A strategic expansion into the Medicare Advantage market was executed through the acquisition of healthAlign in 2021, bringing onboard its Care Concierge solution and leadership team, including Andrew Friedell who later became THB's COO [BusinessWire, 2021] [The Org, 2026].

The company's most recent and largest disclosed funding event was a $35 million round in January 2025, which has been characterized as a Series C [BusinessWire, 2025]. This capital appears earmarked for scaling its government programs business and the launch of new financial products like the helpful™ flex spending card [thehelperbees.com, 2025].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Founding details and key milestones confirmed by multiple independent press releases and investor communications.

What They Have Built

The Helper Bees operates a B2B software platform that connects insurance carriers with a curated network of non-medical service providers. The core product surfaces are a digital claims and care management system for insurers, a provider network for fulfillment, and a recently launched flexible spending card for members [Afore Ventures, May 2023-2024 timeframe] [BusinessWire, 2020].

Its platform bundles several key functions for payers. Digital claims innovation automates the processing of claims for services like meal delivery, transportation, and home modifications. Nurse assessments and care advocacy provide clinical oversight and member support, while care management tools coordinate the delivery of services through a managed provider network [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief]. The 2021 acquisition of healthAlign added a Medicare Advantage-focused solution called "Care Concierge," which handles network development, care navigation, and provider payments [BusinessWire, 2021] [atiadvisory.com, 2022]. In 2025, the company launched the helpful™ flex card, a payment card integrated with an e-commerce experience that allows Medicare Advantage and other insurance members to pay for approved OTC products, groceries, and in-home services [thehelperbees.com, 2025].

• Provider network management. The platform aggregates, credentials, and manages thousands of non-medical service providers across all 50 states [The Helper Bees: Why We Invested, IMPACT ENGINE, 2022].
• Data-driven insights. The company emphasizes using its claims and utilization data to generate insights for insurers [Afore Ventures, May 2023-2024 timeframe].
• Technology stack. Public engineering job descriptions reference experience with React, Node.js, Python, AWS, and PostgreSQL.

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Product claims are consistently described across company announcements, investor blogs, and news coverage.

Market Size and Demand

The market for aging-in-place services is a structural response to a demographic shift. The number of people aged 65 and older in the U.S. is projected to increase from 56 million in 2020 to nearly 95 million by 2060, a 69% increase [McKnight's Home Care]. This expanding population overwhelmingly prefers to remain at home; 88% of Americans aged 50-80 express a preference for aging in place [McKnight's Home Care].

The broader home healthcare market was valued at over $100 billion in the U.S. as of 2023 [Definitive Healthcare blog]. The Helper Bees’ specific serviceable addressable market is the subset of this spending managed by or reimbursed through insurance payers, particularly Long-Term Care (LTC) insurers and Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. The MA market alone covers over 33 million beneficiaries as of 2024 [atiadvisory.com, 2022].

Regulatory and reimbursement changes are actively expanding the market. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has progressively broadened the scope of supplemental benefits that Medicare Advantage plans can offer, explicitly including non-medical in-home support services like meal delivery, transportation, and home modifications. This policy shift, beginning around 2019, transformed these services from out-of-pocket expenses for seniors into covered, plan-sponsored benefits.

Metric	Value
U.S. Population 65+ (2020)	56 million
Projected U.S. Population 65+ (2060)	95 million
Older Adults Preferring to Age in Place	88 %

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Demographic and preference data corroborated by multiple industry publications.

Who Else Is Fighting for This

The Helper Bees operates in a fragmented market where competition is defined by companies attacking different facets of the aging-in-place challenge.

Company	Positioning	Stage / Funding	Notable Differentiator
The Helper Bees	B2B aging-in-place platform for insurers; manages non-medical provider network & claims.	Series C; >$35M total raised.	Integrated claims processing, nurse assessments, and a new flexible spending card (helpful™) for MA plans.
Papa	Direct-to-consumer marketplace for companionship, transportation, and light household tasks.	Series D; $240M+ total raised.	Focus on social determinants of health via a gig-economy model of "Pals."
Sena Health	Tech-enabled provider of acute, hospital-level care in the home.	Seed; $3.2M raised.	Clinical care model with proprietary hardware/software.
Blooming Health	B2B platform connecting payers/providers to community-based aging services.	Seed; $4.2M raised.	Focus on API-driven integrations and a curated network for social care referrals.
Unite Us	Cross-sector coordination platform for health and social services.	Series C; $195M total raised.	Broad network across government, community orgs, and healthcare.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitor funding and positioning are drawn from Crunchbase and public materials, but detailed competitive metrics are not publicly available.

Opportunity

The Helper Bees is positioned to become the default infrastructure for administering aging-in-place benefits across the U.S. insurance industry. The company's core bet is that insurers, facing rising costs and member demand for home-based care, will outsource the entire non-medical benefit lifecycle. This outcome is reachable because the company has already established its model within long-term care insurance and is actively expanding into Medicare Advantage, a program with over 33 million enrollees [BusinessWire, 2021].

Scenario	What happens	Catalyst
Medicare Advantage Standard	The company becomes the preferred vendor for Supplemental Benefits (SSBCI) administration across multiple national MA plans.	A major national health plan publicly adopts the helpful™ card and care concierge platform.
Insurer Platform Consolidation	Long-term care and life insurers standardize on The Helper Bees for all in-home service benefits.	A second wave of LTC insurers adopts the platform, driven by peer pressure and proven ROI on claims reduction.
Vertical Expansion into Medicaid	The platform is adapted to serve state Medicaid programs managing home and community-based services (HCBS) waivers.	A pilot program with a state Medicaid agency is announced.

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Core market dynamics and company expansion steps are confirmed by multiple press releases and investor communications.

Sources

1. [Afore Ventures, May 2023-2024 timeframe] The Helper Bees: A Buzzing Aging‑in‑Place Platform | https://www.av.vc/blog/the-helper-bees-a-buzzing-aging-in-place-platform
2. [BusinessWire, 2020] The Helper Bees Secures $6M Series A Funding Round | https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200723005185/en/The-Helper-Bees-Secures-$6M-Series-A-Funding-Round-Partners-with-Insurance-Carriers-to-Create-a-Better-Model-for-Home-Care
3. [CGS Advisors, 2020] Come to the Problem as a Learner (wsg Char Hu) - EP43 | https://www.cgsadvisors.com/podcast/come-to-the-problem-as-a-learner-wsg-char-hu-ep43
4. [The Helper Bees: Why We Invested, IMPACT ENGINE, 2022] The Helper Bees: Why We Invested | https://www.impactengine.com/insights/the-helper-bees-why-we-invested
5. [BusinessWire, 2021] The Helper Bees Expands into Medicare Advantage With healthAlign Acquisition | https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211202005245/en/The-Helper-Bees-Expands-into-Medicare-Advantage-With-healthAlign-Acquisition
6. [thehelperbees.com, 2025] The Helper Bees Launches The Most helpful™ Flex Card | https://www.thehelperbees.com/press/the-helper-bees-launches-the-most-helpful-flex-card-to-streamline-access-to-products-and-services
7. [atiadvisory.com, 2022] Innovation Spotlight - Linking Medicare Advantage Members to In-Home Support Benefits | https://www.atiadvisory.com/innovation-spotlight-linking-medicare-advantage-members-to-in-home-support-benefits/
8. [fintech.global, 2020] The Helper Bees said to bag $6m Series A investment | https://fintech.global/2020/07/23/the-helper-bees-said-to-bag-6m-series-a-investment/
9. [McKnight's Home Care] Get ready for 4 'aging in place' market trends | https://www.mcknightshomecare.com/get-ready-for-4-aging-in-place-market-trends/
10. [Definitive Healthcare blog, 2023] Aging in place is driving innovation in home-based care and technology | https://www.definitivehc.com/blog/aging-in-place-driving-innovation
11. [Technical.ly, June 2022] Healthtech startup Sena Health aims to make 'aging in place' easier | https://technical.ly/startups/sena-health-aging-in-place/
12. [InsuranceNewsNet, 2023] The Helper Bees Partners with Continental General Insurance Company | https://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/the-helper-bees-partners-with-continental-general-insurance-company
13. [CNA Financial, 2020] CNA Launches The View From Home | https://investor-relations.cna.com/news/news-details/2020/CNA-Launches-The-View-From-Home-Providing-Long-Term-Care-Policyholders-Added-Support-While-Aging-in-Place/default.aspx
14. [The Org, 2026] Andrew Friedell - Chief Operating Officer at The Helper Bees | https://theorg.com/org/the-helper-bees/org-chart/andrew-friedell
15. [LinkedIn, 2026] Dean Gutridge - VP, Enterprise Strategy at The Helper Bees | https://www.linkedin.com/in/deangutridge/
16. [BusinessWire, 2025] The Helper Bees Announces $35 Million Growth Investment | https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250129005185/en/The-Helper-Bees-Announces-35-Million-Growth-Investment
17. [LeadIQ, 2026] The Helper Bees Company Overview | https://leadiq.com/companies/the-helper-bees