Your health is the one thing you can’t put a price tag on – but fortunately, more and more investors can, by supporting innovative solutions that have the potential to solve the world’s biggest health challenges such as effectively delivering quality care to billions of people, radically reducing costs or ending cancer as we know it.
What was once described as digital health now equals health, converging across all sectors – health IT, biotech, med-tech, pharma, health services, consumer health and so on, requiring new business models and thinking to help transform health.
Health is becoming a very exciting space to build a business right now: the market is exponentially growing, reaching $14.6 billion in investments across the globe. Where exactly these investments are focused? StartUp Health’s comprehensive report on last year finds the following trends in the digital health industry:
For starters, patient empowerment is key. Those solutions that help patients navigate the healthcare system and open up direct communication with healthcare providers along their health journeys received the most funding in 2018, making it the most active function.
AI and machine learning, converging with almost every sector now, finds its place in digital health. Funding for companies utilizing machine learning technology to provide more productive and customized health solutions has increased year over year, taking the largest jump from 2017 to 2018. Average deal size also grew by 50% year on year.
Diagnostics and screening tops the list as the most funded digital health subsector in 2018. Broken down into technology types, genetic sequencing attracted the most funding followed by hardware/medical device.
It seems that mental health finally gets the well-deserved attention as companies focused on mental health received record-breaking funding, with total amount raised in 2018 more than tripling since 2014. Mobile apps built for patients and consumers was a trending technology type, representing 77% of total funding in the mental health sector.
Digital health technology in the Nordic region is particularly strong, the health tech scene is booming with innovative startups, such as Nightingale, Finnish Startup of the Year 2018. Innovation is fueled by the increasing number of flourishing partnerships and investments in the region. Focus areas are in alignment with global trends:
“Health and care solutions powered by AI are one of the key areas where the Finnish State Development Company Vake will operate in the near future. We seek new innovative solutions that can generate huge impact in the field – some to the citizens and some to the healthcare system as a whole. Population management, self diagnostics, personalised medicine and chronic disease management are some of Vake’s key areas of interest.” – says Antti Larsio, Director, Healthcare and AI Program.
On 5-6 June at Arctic15’s Health track powered by Vake, we will delve deeper into global health investments and trends, see how to scale health tech, as well as examine the role of investments and partnerships in company growth – from the perspective of founders, investors and companies alike.
Joining us as speakers are Teemu Suna, CEO and Founder, Nightingale, Fredrik Debong, Founder, MySugr & HiHealth, Eugene Boruchovich, Global Head of Digital Health and Innovation, Bayer, Luke Parson, VP Summit Partners, Tim He, Venture Investor, Kinnevik, Juliet Bailin, Associate Partner, Mosaic Ventures, Hekla Arnardóttir, Founding Partner, Crowberry Capital and Aki Koivistoinen from StartUp Health who’s also a curator and moderator of the Health track.
Get your tickets here.
