NDIS management startup re-Seeds with $20 million top up

A Melbourne healthcare platform focused on managing NDIS services has topped up the $12.6 million Seed round it raised six months ago with an additional $20 million.

Kismet previously banked US$8.2 million (A$12.6m) in its initial Seed round in March, with new reports that Singapore’s MassMutual Ventures has joined its share registry with the additional cash.The initial round was led by Dutch-listed internet investment firm Prosus Ventures and existing backer Airtree. The startup previously raised A$4m in pre-Seed capital in May last year, with from Airtree, Black Nova and Flying Fox.

The startup, cofounded by Mark Woodland and his former colleagues at Xplor in 2023, initially sought address fraud in the NDIS the way it tackled the issue in childcare, launching in February last year.

Kismet is now an end-to-end ecosystem to support health plan and fund management, and connect patients with providers, to address the disability and healthcare sector’s biggest challenges, including fraud and non-compliance. It has around 20,000 NDIS recipients and 7,000 allied health providers on its books.

The platform is designed to alleviate the caregiving pressures faced by individuals responsible for elderly parents and young children, serving a broad range of needs across the age spectrum. It automatically books caregivers or recipients into healthcare appointments based on available insurance options.

Reports say that the company’s valuation rose between the initial Seed round and the MassMutual capital injection amid rapid growth in Kismet’s annual recurring revenue.

Fraud has been a massive issue in the NDIS, as the cost to taxpayers blew out and the minister responsible, Bill Shorten, moved to crack down on illegal activity.

Last month the NDIS revealed a series of early morning raids, payment locks and increased prosecutions on suspected fraudulent and criminal service providers by the agency’s fraud fusion taskforce.

The said hundreds more prosecutions are expected from other ongoing investigations, which almost 1,000 disability service providers have had payment locks applied to their claims within the last few months.

Shorten, the architect of the scheme, will retire at the next election after 17 years in federal politics, taking on the position of vice-chancellor of the University of Canberra in February.