|
|
|
|
Tuesday, 7 April 2026 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Health tech kicked off the year with a series of eye-popping funding rounds. |
| Whoop raised a $575 million Series G last week. Others, like OpenEvidence, eMed, Talkiatry and Alphabet's Verily all raised rounds of $200 million or more. |
| It’s a familiar story to the one we saw play out at the start of last year. But this time, the numbers are even higher. |
| Total funding in the first quarter of 2026 hit $4 billion across 110 deals — $1 billion more than the same time last year, according to digital health consultancy Rock Health. There haven't been this many nine-figure checks in a quarter since 2022, the report said. |
| But the funds are still only going toward a small slice of health tech. A number of early- and mid-stage startups are still struggling to raise, while 59% of all funding this past quarter went into just 12 megadeals. |
| What I’m more interested in is how these megarounds mask another dynamic. Startups are staying private longer and raising larger late-stage funding rounds instead of going public. Plenty of companies have said they are eyeing an IPO, but only Hinge Health and Omada Health have made the leap. |
| Still, the health tech industry can't afford to stay private forever. It's just a question of who dares go next. |
| - Ngai |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AI meets GLP-1s |
|
|
Of course, we saw the viral New York Times story about how telehealth GLP-1 provider MEDVi was built almost entirely by one person (and his brother) and using AI. There are plenty of takes you can find swirling around on social media. This one reminded us of a recurring conversation the team has whenever we get overwhelmed trying to map out the many online providers of weight loss medications. |
|
|
|
|
|
This week in health Тech |
|
|
|
Teladoc Health faces demands from an activist investor. Frustrated by the telehealth giant's slumping shares since pandemic-era peaks, Pineal Capital Management wrote an open letter to Teladoc that included a demand to consider breaking off its therapy business BetterHelp to boost its stock price. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Worldwide made. Thanks for reading.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
