European private equity firm Nordic Capital acquired Boston-based health data platform Arcadia this week. The deal makes Nordic the majority owner of Arcadia, marking an exit for previous investor Peloton Equity.
Arcadia’s platform includes AI-driven tools designed to help payers and providers adopt value-based care efficiently, as well as improve patients’ experiences and outcomes.
The most recent time the company raised capital was in 2023, when it received $125 million in financing from Vista Credit Partners. Just last year, Arcadia underwent a major expansion, merging with CareJourney, a health analytics firm that facilitates participation in value-based care contracts.
Arcadia’s new deal comes at an exciting time in the digital health world, pointed out Arcadia CEO Michael Meucci. Governments are investing in better healthcare technology infrastructures, payers and providers are partnering on data sharing initiatives, and more stakeholders are collaborating than ever before, he noted.
When Nordic pitched this deal to Arcadia, the company wasn’t actively raising capital, but it had been preparing for this type of growth opportunity, Meucci said.
“Nordic’s view is that the only way to solve the healthcare cost problem in the U.S. is the adoption and democratization of value-based care. So it just was the right time for us to say, ‘Let’s link arms together and attack this together.’ Their pitch to me was, ‘We could pour rocket fuel on it.’ And I already thought we were moving pretty fast, so I’m not going to say no to that,” he remarked.
Meucci noted that Nordic is backing Arcadia’s current leadership and growth strategy rather than trying to operate the company directly. Nordic will contribute capital and expertise from its network, but day-to-day execution will remain with Arcadia’s existing team.
In Meucci’s eyes, the deal fits into a broader trend — that strategic healthcare investments are becoming increasingly focused on interoperability, AI and payment reform.
He also sees the transaction as a validating moment for value-based care technology, as he thinks Nordic’s entry into the value-based care technology space sends a signal to the market.
“I think we’re seeing a new class of deal emerging. It’s not like it was in 2021, but there’s been a lot of healthcare deal activity. You’ve got a whole bunch that have gotten done in the last six months. I feel like it kind of started with Surescripts,” Meucci stated. “There have been six or seven pretty big deals that I think are illustrating that there is a theme around digitization and data exchange, as well as payment model transformation and adoption of AI at scale.”
For instance, New Mountain Capital acquired Machinify in January, melding it with other AI-powered payment integrity services to create a $5 billion company focused on healthcare billing accuracy. And just last week, healthcare AI startup Abridge closed a $300 million Series E funding round — just four months after closing its $250 million Series D round.
Going forward, Meucci wants to shift value-based care from a side initiative to a core operating principle for providers and payers, and he thinks Arcadia’s platform can help them do so.
The company is investing heavily in AI tools, including large language model-driven conversational analytics, to help providers and payers work more efficiently in value-based care arrangements, he added. He also noted that Nordic’s investment will allow Arcadia to continue building new tools and selectively acquire companies that enhance its offerings.
Nordic and Arcadia are not disclosing the financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the second half of this year.
Photo: Natee Meepian, Getty Images
