What HealthTech Can Learn from FinTech

Next-Gen HealthTech:

Taking an API-based approach, Ribbon Health is building on the approach ofone of its competitors, Kyruus, with the potential to expand across the entire breadth of the American healthcare system. Specifically, Ribbon Health is trying to create an accurate database of what doctors and health plans offer and which specializations offer their services to which insurance providers in order to produce the best outcomes for patients.

Firefly Health is a new primary care start-up that launched in 2018 to give more people convenient access to better care. Founded by experienced physician innovators and technology entrepreneurs, Firefly reimagines the traditional care model by connecting patients with a dedicated care team they can easily access through in-app messaging, video, and in-person appointments. Based in Wellesley, MA, Firefly Health's platform enables people to make smart choices about their health while allowing clinicians to provide unparalleled, consistent, and proactive care.

Buoy is a digital health company developed out of the Harvard Innovation Labs by a team of doctors and data scientists, aimed at providing personalized clinical support through technology to individuals the moment they have a health care concern. Buoy helps remove the fear and complexity that often confronts people as they enter the system by navigating and engaging patients intelligently. The all-on-one technology is able to deliver triage at scale with transparency, connecting individuals with the right care endpoints at the right time. It has collaborated with multiple states during COVID-19 to offer symptom screening. 

NowRx, an on-demand e-pharmacy, is leveraging technology and a same-day prescription delivery service to disrupt the several hundred billion dollar U.S. legacy pharmacy industry. NowRx has 5 licensed facilities spread across the San Francisco Bay area, Orange County, and Los Angeles, and has delivered more than 100,000 prescriptions to 18,000 customers since inception. 

Devoted Health is a health insurance company targeting seniors over age of 65. The company's healthcare services feature personal guides, contracts, and HMO and Medicare Advantage plans that work closely with physicians to avoid unneeded medical procedures, providing Medicare beneficiaries with care through a network of doctors and a tech-enabled healthcare platform.

Virta Health provides the first treatment to safely and sustainably reverse type 2 diabetes without medications or surgery. Among enrolled patients in the company's clinical trial at one year, 60% achieved diabetes reversal and 94% of insulin users reduced or eliminated usage altogether. Results extend beyond diabetes reversal to other areas of metabolic and cardiovascular health, with sustained improvements in blood pressure, inflammation, liver function, and BMI. For enterprises, Virta puts 100% of its fees at risk to show it can reduce medical prescription costs by more than 70% in year 1 alone. Delivered through Virta’s novel continuous remote care platform, the Virta Treatment provides unparalleled medical and behavioral support and is transforming the lives of people living with type 2 diabetes.

Funding & Deal Highlights:

China's Didi Chuxing banks $500M in an investment for its autonomous driving subsidiary following the closure of its first funding round led by Softbank Vision Fund 2.

Versant-backed, Bristol Myers-stamped Repare Therapeutics guns for a $100M IPO. The company unveiled plans for a $100M IPO, banking on its “synthetic lethality” platform. The basic idea is to target the genetic basis of tumors, a common idea across precision oncology medicines. But instead of targeting the perpetrator mutation directly, the compound is designed to go after the other gene in the gene pair.

BeeHero smartens up hives to provide ‘pollination as a service’ with a $4M seed round. 

Datalogic, a provider of automatic data capture and process automation solutions, has invested an undisclosed sum in AWM Smart Shelf, an artificial intelligence and computer vision company that provides autonomous/cashier-less checkout, automated inventory intelligence, consumer demographics, and behavior tracking, as well as software for in-store analytics and reporting.

Imperfect Foods raises $72M in Series C funding led by Insight Partners. This round of funding was also supported by existing investors of the company, including Series B lead Norwest Venture Partners. Launched in 2015, Imperfect Foods is on a mission to eliminate food waste and build a better food system for everyone.

Kippo raises $2M for a dating app for gamers who want to find like-minded companions.

Ginkgo Bioworks Inc. raises $70M in an effort to build out DNA-based COVID-19 testing on a massive scale.

LLR invests in healthcare education company TrueLearn.

Global management consulting firm Oliver Wyman announces it has acquired a minority stake in Corridor Platforms, an industry-leading decision workflow governance and automation software provider.

NSI Industries, LLC announces the acquisition of electrical connectors manufacturer Polaris Electrical Connectors, Inc., an Odessa, FL-based market leader of American-made pre-insulated multi-tap connectors.

Zscaler purchases early-stage vendor Edgewise Networks to better protect application-to-application communications in public cloud and data centers.

Fusion Health announces that it has completed its acquisition of 100% voting and non-voting shares of Kalos, Inc. Kalos, a leader in pharmacy management solutions, is located in Topeka, KS. The company is nationally-recognized for its proven software in retail pharmacies, universities, and correctional facilities.