A group of investors has infused the end-of-life planning company Cake with $3.7 million to build out its online platform. Cake’s solutions use artificial intelligence and Natural Language Processing technology to help families navigate decisions as a loved one enters their final days, with a focus on reducing racial disparities in access to these services.

The company expanded its reach by more than 10 times during 2020, reaching 30 million consumers, according to a statement from Cake. New investors included AARP and the venture capital firms InHealth Ventures, Two Lanterns, Portfolia’s Aging and Longevity Fund, Scrum Ventures and Reflect Ventures.

Hundreds of thousands of people in the United States have been confronted with mortality and grief during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a renewed focus for many on end-of-life planning.

“The pandemic sped up existing trends in consumer views on end-of-life,” Cake CEO Suelin Chen said. “We’ve seen increased demand and decreased stigma around end-of-life topics. This has not only led to spiking consumer engagement but also a surge of interest from enterprises that serve these consumers and view end-of-life planning as an essential part of people’s health and financial well-being.”

Cake’s new backers joined their current investors GoAhead Ventures, Pillar, and OCA Ventures, as well as a number of individuals who have made a stake in the company. The funds raised were oversubscribed, meaning that the dollar amount exceeded the sum Cake was seeking.

Cake offers products and services to businesses as well as consumers, including health systems, health plans, insurance companies and other firms. Among the solutions Cake offers are those related with advance care planning.

“We invested in Cake because of their traction in a massive category that impacts every human being,” said Ben Evans, managing partner with InHealth Ventures. “Advance care and end-of-life planning are essential for the health and financial well-being of both individuals and organizations, and we see Cake leading solutions for honoring life from beginning to end.”

Greater acceptance of hospice and palliative care, the need to reduce health care costs and the availability of Medicare reimbursement is driving renewed interest in promoting advance care plans among health care providers, policymakers and payers. A cottage industry has sprung up in recent years around advance care planning services, with a number of companies offering patients consulting services or technology to aid them through the process.

Research indicates that advance care planning can reduce hospitalizations by as much as 26%, reduce health care costs, increase community-based palliative care and hospice utilization, as well as significantly increase the likelihood that care will be delivered in accordance with the patient’s wishes.

Despite the benefits of advance care planning, many patients don’t pursue it or pursue it too late. Only 14% of patients with serious illnesses have advance care plans. Patients who choose to receive palliative care are the most likely to have a plan.

“We realize opportunities for innovation in fragmented categories composed of various point solutions, which is the case for end-of-life planning,” said Ryan Mendoza, partner with Scrum Ventures. “We are very excited about future iterations of Cake’s product, moving upstream into ‘near-death’ planning, and using AI to improve the user experience, and becoming the central tool for this market.”