Cigna leads $50 million round in Omada Health

Omada Health has raised $50 million in a new funding round that was led by health insurer Cigna, the company said Wednesday. A handful of prior investors also participated, including Andreessen Horowitz and the venture capital arms of Humana, Kaiser Permanente and Providence Health & Services.

Why it matters: Omada has raised more than $125 million, attracting interest from some of the largest venture capital firms and health care companies. Those companies are betting Omada's technology — which provides online counseling and coaching to people who have chronic diseases, most notably diabetes — can lower health care costs.

Working in Omada's favor: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Medicare both gave a stamp of approval for Omada's diabetes prevention program. Cigna, Humana and Kaiser all have large Medicare plans.