Tag Archives: AI

Health Tech Trends: AI, Private Markets, and 2025 Predictions from Bessemer Venture Partners

December 20, 2024Business, Health, Innovation, StartupsAI, artificial intelligence, Bessemer Venture Partners, Digital Health, Health, Health Tech, Healthcare, Logan Plaster, Sofia Guerra, Steve Kraus, trendsNicole Kinsey

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (71.2MB)

On this week’s podcast episode, Steve Kraus and Sofia Guerra of Bessemer Venture Partners joined us to discuss the trends and predictions outlined in their second annual State of Health Tech report.

Key takeaways include:

AI: Health tech dollars invested in AI-focused companies have increased 1.5x in just two years, reaching 38% in 2024 to date.
Private market recovery: Mega rounds of $50M+ for later-stage companies with strong fundamentals, alongside a surge of seed and Series A companies scaling to $1M-$10M ARR within three years.
2025 predictions: Adoption of in-house services-as-software, AI enhancing doctors’ capabilities, AI streamlining value-based care, and more companies blending cutting-edge technology with deep healthcare expertise.

About Steve Kraus:
Steve Kraus is a partner at Bessemer in the Cambridge office and a world-renowned healthcare investor. He is the author of Bessemer’s 10 Laws of Healthcare, Benchmarks for Growing Health Tech Businesses, and co-host of the podcast Heart of Healthcare. Kraus currently sits on the boards of Bright Health Group, Headspace Health, Groups, Qventus, AspenRx, HouseRx, Oshi Health, Folx Health, Mural Health, and Alcresta.

About Sofia Guerra:
Sofia Guerra is a vice president at Bessemer Venture Partners, where she invests in seed to growth healthcare and life sciences companies. She is the co-author of State of Health Tech report, Benchmarks for Growing Health Tech Business, and How to Scale Health Tech Businesses to $100M and Beyond, a study of 100+ best-in-class companies to understand key metrics relevant for scalability in healthcare software and tech-enabled services.

Listen in for the complete chat with Steve Kraus and Sofia Guerra and learn about the key trends shaping the future of health tech.

Are you ready to tell YOUR story? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Exposure in StartUp Health Media to our global audience of investors and partners – including our podcast, newsletters, magazine, and YouTube channel – is a benefit of our Health Moonshot Community Showcase Membership. To schedule a call and see if you qualify to join and increase brand awareness through our multi-media storytelling efforts, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. Learn more and apply today.

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How AI Is Creating an Inflection Point in Brain Health Innovation: Reporting from the AAIC

August 1, 2024Business, Health, Innovation, StartupsAAIC, AI, Alzheimer's, Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Moonshot, artificial intelligence, Brain health, Health Moonshot, Health Transformer, Health Transformers, Logan Plaster, RetiSpec, SinapticaNicole Kinsey

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (19.5MB)

Join StartUp Health NOW for a powerful episode recorded live at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC)! We explore the exciting inflection point in Alzheimer’s research fueled by AI and machine learning.

Hear directly from passionate founders in the StartUp Health Alzheimer’s Moonshot Community:

Catherine Bornbaum, PhD, CBO at RetiSpec, fresh off the company’s $10M Series A, unveils a groundbreaking AI-powered device that analyzes the retina for insights into brain health.
Ken Mariash, CEO of Sinaptica Therapeutics, discusses using AI and neuromodulation to potentially slow Alzheimer’s and strengthen brain function in healthy individuals.

Discover:

How AI is unlocking a multi-modal understanding of the brain
The potential for revolutionizing treatment for all brain conditions
The cutting-edge technologies shaping the future of Alzheimer’s research

This episode is a must-listen for anyone passionate about brain health and the fight against Alzheimer’s!

Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our Alzheimer’s Moonshot.

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Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot

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AI in Healthcare: Separating Hype from Reality on the Front Lines

April 19, 2024Health, Innovation, StartupsAccess to care, Access to Care Moonshot, AI, artificial intelligence, Cure Disease, diabetes, Health, Health Moonshot, Health Moonshots, Health Transformer, Health Transformers, Healthcare, Innovation, Metabolic, Metabolic Health, Moonshots, T1D, T1D MoonshotNicole Kinsey

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (37.6MB)

Tired of overblown claims about AI in healthcare?
This episode dives into the real, impactful ways AI is transforming patient care.

Join us as we chat with founders in the StartUp Health community who are using AI to improve healthcare for patients and providers:

Jerrod Ullah, HealthTalk A.I.: Hear how his experience as an ICU nurse fueled an AI platform that boosts engagement for both patients and providers.
Kavi Misri, Hibiscus Health: Discover how their end-to-end solution empowers people with metabolic conditions to take control of their health.

This episode is for you if:

You’re curious about the practical applications of AI in healthcare.
You want to hear inspiring stories from healthcare entrepreneurs.
You’re eager to learn how AI can improve patient outcomes.

Get ready for a refreshing take on AI in healthcare!

Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot.

Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot

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Inside the Health Moonshot Impact Board: A Conversation with Margaret Laws and Shirley Bergin

March 22, 2024Business, Health, Innovation, StartupsAI, ARPA-H, artificial intelligence, Health, health innovation, Health Moonshot Impact Board, Healthcare, HopeLab, Logan Plaster, Margaret Laws, mental health, Shirley Bergin, StartUp Health, TEDMEDNicole Kinsey

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (31.3MB)

This week on StartUp Health NOW, we have again handed over the microphones to two members of our Health Moonshot Impact Board and having them interview each other.

At one end of the table we’ve got Margaret Laws, CEO & President of HopeLab, former Director of Innovations for the Underserved at CHCF, and Founder of the CHCF Health Innovation Fund, and at the other end of the interview table is Shirley Bergin, Senior Advisor at ARPA-H, Former CMO/COO of TEDMED, and Advisor to Ellipsis Health and Cure.

The goal of the conversation was simply to hear about the latest projects and passions of two of the most influential and interesting people in health innovation. In the interview, which took place in person at the Lake Nona Impact Forum in Florida, we cover a range of topics, from youth mental health, to the role of AI in diagnostics, to education to address global gaps in the healthcare workforce.

Margaret Laws and Shirley Bergin are thought leaders in health innovation, but they’re also deeply involved in directing funds towards promising programs, so it will be interesting to see how their curiosities and passions as played out here will lead to concrete moves in the future.

Enjoy the conversation.

Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot.

Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? Learn how you can get one of the last spots in our T1D Moonshot.

Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot

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How Two Founders Are Using AI to Tackle Wasteful Healthcare Spending

November 30, 2023Business, Health, Innovation, StartupsAI, artificial intelligence, Cost to Zero, Health Cost IQ, Health Moonshots, Health Transformer, Health Transformers, Healthcare, healthcare spending, Hindsait, Innovation, Jude Odu, Logan Plaster, Pinaki DasguptaNicole Kinsey

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On this StartUp Health NOW episode, we’re talking about wasteful spending in healthcare. This is one of those topics that’s hard to put in perspective. The institute of medicine says that 30% of healthcare spending could be categorized as wasteful, putting the total tab north of $750 million. It could be a trillion dollars.

Health insurance premiums are up 7% year over year, according to Health Affairs. Analysts point to inflation as a strong cause, but this nearly trillion dollars in unnecessary spending isn’t helping the equation.

Bottom line, healthcare costs are out of control and driving many people into medical bankruptcy. If 30% of healthcare spending is unnecessary, we’ve got to get this under control. Thankfully, we’ve got founders in the StartUp Health community who are passionate about this issue.

Jude Odu, CEO & Founder of Health Cost IQ, and Pinaki Dasgupta, CEO & Founder of Hindsait, will help us understand what constitutes wasteful spending and how advances in AI allow us to root it out at the source.

This is the kind of innovation that takes some courage, because pointing out to a hospital that they’re double billing or telling an insurer that they’re making massive errors doesn’t make you popular with either party. But it’s got to be done if we’re going to get overall health costs under control.

Enjoy the episode.

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Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot

Funders: Become a Health Moonshot Champion
Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content.
Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot.
Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

These Founders Are Pairing AI + SDoH to Re-humanize Healthcare

October 26, 2023Business, Health, Innovation, StartupsAccess to care, Access to Care Moonshot, AI, Alvee, Alvee Health, artificial intelligence, Chris Turner, generative AI, health equity, Health Equity Moonshot, Health Moonshots, Health Transformers, HealthBook+, HLTH, Logan Plaster, Nicole Cook, SDoH, social determinants of health, StartUp Health @ HLTHNicole Kinsey

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB)

Our episode this week was recorded during our StartUp Health Studio interviews at the recent HLTH conference in Las Vegas. At the event, a hot topic was how artificial intelligence, specifically generative AI, is going to fundamentally shift healthcare delivery. AI can help us comb through mountains of information and take action on data points that were previously hidden from view. But many people have a serious concern – even a fear – that AI will degrade the doctor-patient relationship and effectively dehumanize healthcare.

Our two guests today both joined the StartUp Health community earlier in 2023. They are pushing back against that narrative and suggesting with their companies that AI and big data can be leveraged to re-humanize healthcare delivery.

First we’ll talk with Nicole Cook, the CEO & Founder of Alvee, who is on a health moonshot mission to use AI-driven solutions to promote health equity and improve health outcomes for all. Cook reminds us that doctors are spending an inordinate amount of their time with a patient tapping away at a screen. The status quo is not working, so can new patient data tools help? Can they bring the right information to the surface at the right time and the right way, so healthcare providers can get back to making eye contact with patients?

What’s Cook is building at Alvee is resonating, as she went on to win the HLTH Startup Pitch Competition.

Next, we hear from Chris Turner, CEO & Co-founder at HealthBook+, who is attempting to create a fuller, more human picture of each patient using all available data including data from some nontraditional sources. HealthBook+ provides a simple-to-use, digital-first care platform which consolidates health data and keeps it private, as well as predicts conditions and recommends the next best health actions.

If the top line story for this episode is how data and AI could be used to create a more human electronic health record, the secondary story is about who can benefit from this technology.

Everyone’s talking about social determinants of health. This idea that we need to address the non-medical drivers of health, like access to fresh food and transportation. Healthcare providers care about these issues but don’t have the time or resources to analyze the data. That’s where Alvee Health and HealthBook+ can come in. Providing a fuller, more human analysis of patient data means taking into account important barriers to care and getting smart about how to overcome them.

So let’s get into it.

Innovators: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot

From the Archives: Naheed Kurji of Recursion Takes a Deep Dive into Artificial Intelligence for Drug Discovery

August 30, 2023Business, Health, Innovation, StartupsAI, artificial intelligence, Cost to Zero, Cure Disease, Cyclica, Health Transformers, Logan Plaster, machine learning, Moonshots, Naheed Kurji, Recursion, Recursion Canada, Recursion Pharmaceuticals, RXRXNicole Kinsey

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:57 — 28.0MB)

For this StartUp Health NOW episode, we dive back into an interview we did with a long-time Health Transformer, Naheed Kurji. At the time of the interview, Naheed was the CEO, President & Co-founder of Cyclica, a StartUp Health company that is considered one of the pioneers of what is now the increasingly hot space of using AI for drug discovery and development.

We wanted to revisit this conversation because in the time since we aired it, Cyclica had huge news. In May 2023, the company was acquired by Recursion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RXRX), a clinical-stage biotech player.

Naheed now leads Recursion’s Canadian operations and is putting his experience to use accelerating innovation in drug discovery in whole new ways. By looking back at Naheed’s experience at Cyclica, we can gain a glimpse into how he was so successful piloting a startup from launch to acquisition and how he might lead Recursion moving forward. Naheed will also give us an inside look at how Cyclica reshaped this market – then he’ll zoom way out: as the chair of the Alliance for Artificial Intelligence in Health, Naheed can help us understand where the AI for health industry is going.

We will be back with fresh episodes after Labor Day!

Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot

ChatGPT Was Just the Beginning: Victor Wang on the Future of AI in Healthcare

April 6, 2023Business, Health, Innovation, StartupsAI, artificial intelligence, avatar, care.coach, Chat GPT, ChatGPT, conversational AI, conversational avatar, future of AI, generative AI, Health, Health Transformer, Health Transformers, Healthcare, StartUp Health @ ViVE, victor wang, ViVE, ViVE 2023Nicole Kinsey

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:12 — 20.3MB)

Victor Wang, CEO & Founder of StartUp Health company care.coach, is at the tip of the spear of the AI-in-health revolution. He’s got an insider’s understanding of how technology like ChatGPT will shape healthcare. An MIT-trained roboticist who worked for NASA, Victor has created a conversational avatar that cares for seniors and people with disabilities. Currently there’s a human in the loop, but as you’ll hear in the interview, Victor has no trouble imagining a future where conversational AI is able to care for people in a more autonomous, scaleable way.

Perhaps most telling, and timely, about this interview, is hearing Victor’s words of caution about the future of artificial intelligence in healthcare and the burden that rests on companies doing this work to get it right, so that we don’t have an AI backlash and lose out on all the ways this technology can help humanity.

Victor is a brilliant founder and always a pleasure to sit down with, even on the noisy floor of a healthcare conference like ViVE. We hope you enjoy.

Founders: Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot

AI-Powered Health: Naheed Kurji of Cyclica Takes a Deep Dive into Artificial Intelligence for the Healthcare Industry

October 18, 2022Business, Health, Innovation, StartupsAI, artificial intelligence, Cost to Zero, Cure Disease, Cyclica, Health Transformers, Logan Plaster, machine learning, Moonshots, Naheed KurjiNicole Kinsey

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:28 — 40.6MB)

Our guest this week is Naheed Kurji, the CEO and Co-founder of Cyclica, which joined StartUp Health way back in 2014. He’s going to get us up to speed on the world of AI-powered drug discovery. We’ll learn how artificial intelligence and machine learning are speeding up our ability to identify molecules and find new uses for market-tested drugs. Naheed will give us an inside look at how Cyclica is specifically trying to reshape this market, then he’ll zoom way out. As the chair of the Alliance for Artificial Intelligence in Health, Naheed can help us understand where the AI for health industry is going.

Join us at the StartUp Health Festival @ HLTH, Nov 13-16, 2022, in Las Vegas to meet Naheed Kurji in person.

Learn more and connect with the team at Cyclica.

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Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content.
Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

Passionate about Type 1 diabetes? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our T1D Moonshot.

Looking to break down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot.

How Nightingale Is Redefining Preventative Health

February 8, 2022Business, Health, Innovation, Insights, Startups, UncategorizedAI, Blood Testing, Cure Disease, diabetes, Finland, Health Moonshot Update, Health Moonshots, Health Tech, Heart Disease, Logan Plaster, Longevity, Moonshots, Nightingale, Teemu Suna, TelehealthNicole Kinsey

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:50 — 36.5MB)

Join us in Miami Beach in March for StartUp Health @ ViVE 2022: startuphealth.com/vive

Nightingale Health, a Finnish company that StartUp Health backed in 2016, uses a new kind of blood testing to predict future disease risk so that people can change the course of their health before it’s too late. They’ve designed a way to analyze blood samples that pulls 250 times more data from that sample than a typical test. They use artificial intelligence and machine learning to correlate that data with future disease risk, like diabetes and heart disease. Then they put the result in simple terms so that patients can see trends and take action.

This year, Nightingale took three big strides forward. They went public on the Finnish Nasdaq, which gave them capital to scale globally. They rolled out at-home testing kits so more people can benefit from Nightingale’s disease prediction. And they acquired a genomics company that will allow them to bake genetic information into their app and provide people with even more personalized health assessments.

We sat down with Nightingale CEO and Co-founder Teemu Suna to hear more about their blood testing technology and how it could change preventative health globally by getting patients to see their potential future and then change the course of their health.

Join us in Miami Beach in March at StartUp Health @ ViVE 2022 to meet Health Transformers: startuphealth.com/vive

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Learn more and connect with the team at Nightingale.

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