Babylon virtual therapist introduces two divisions into administration

At one point, Babylon was valued at $4 billion, making its founder, Ali Pars, a paper billionaire. Credit: Eddie Mulholland

NHS London, where Babylon held the appointment, said she is in regular contact with the GP at Hand and expects to be notified of any changes to the service.

The company that runs a video therapist service in London and offers a symptom screening app has already placed its US business under bankruptcy protection.

More than 650 people work for Babylon in the UK, according to LinkedIn, although it was not immediately clear how many jobs would be at risk and how many would be given away in the sale. Hundreds of US employees have already lost their jobs.

Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock referred to the company as the “revolutionary” Babylon that provided digital health services to NHS patients in London and then went international.

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However, a disastrous floating rate followed. Investors withdrew funding from the deal ahead of a merger with Special Purpose Acquisition Company. While at some point Babylon's value topped $4 billion (£3.1 billion), making Parsa a paper billionaire, Babylon's value quickly collapsed.

The company lost $221 million last year amid costly US expansion efforts, while Babylon's relationship with physicians soured after the company made bold claims about the artificial intelligence at the heart of its app that was questioned by experts in health care.

Despite the fact that the company has raised over $1 billion from venture capital investors, including the Saudi Arabian Sovereign Wealth Fund, the company's share price has fallen by more than 99% in the two years since going public in 2021. It has also been forced to turn to creditors for more than $300 million in debt financing.

Earlier this month, a merger deal that could have saved Babylon fell apart.

The company warned at the time that the future of its UK business was in doubt and if a buyer was not found as a result of the sale, it would be placed under management.

Babylon's holding company is registered in Jersey and listed in the United States. The company is also seeking a buyer for one of its US operations, a clinical business based in California.