A startup company that connects clients to caregivers online has raised nearly $11 million, the Washington Business Journal reported.

CareSave Technologies, Inc., which operates the HomeCare.com platform, raised the funds through an investment round left by Europe-based ETS Inc. The platform enables consumers to search for a caregiver to find help for themselves or a family member at home.

The platform has 80,000 care providers, CEO Todd Walrath told the Washington Business Journal. Walrath did not reply to requests for further comment from Home Health Care News. The services offered include in-home care paid for out-of-pocket by consumers.

The platform reportedly screens all care providers, and aims to enable caregivers to receive higher wages by operating outside a traditional agency. Caregivers earn closer to $15 per hour, according to Walrath, because they can negotiate directly with families seeking care.

CareSave has 45 employees, and Walrath hopes to double in size by the end of 2018 with the new funds, including adding new management, sale and technology positions.

Walrath also operated Senior-Living.net, which was sold to RealPage in 2011 for $4.5 million.

CareSave was launched in 2014, with a $1.8 million equity funding round in January 2016, when the home care website launched. Walrath’s background includes serving as chief operating officer of Weather.com; group vice president of AOL local search; and CEO and founder of Leads.com.

The home care platform serves Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Texas, Ohio and Michigan, with three to four more markets on the horizon in the second quarter of 2018, the Journal Reported.

The investment round also included Blue Heron Capital, the Maryland Venture Fund and Private Access Network, according to the Journal.

The funding is the latest example of venture capital flowing into the home care sector in recent years, including similar services such as CareLinx, which raised millions and was recently acquired by Generali.

Written by Amy Baxter