After a record year for healthtech startups in 2021, a further $11.8B has been raised in the first three months of 2022. While the Q1 2022 total is down 0.8x year-on-year, it still reached 1.6x the total from Q1 2020. Early and mid-stage investment (0-$100M) accounted for more than 55% of total funding, compared to Q1 2021, where megarounds ($100M-$250M+) were predominant by 60% of total funding.
European healthtech continues to compete strongly internationally. Same as in 2021 end-of year, Europe is the fastest growing region by VC investment. In Q1 2022, investment is up 1.5x year-on-year. The USA and Asia are the regions in which Q1 2022 healthtech investment is down by 0.7x and 0.6x, respectively vs. Q1 2021.
There are now 216 healthtech unicorns globally, 39% of which were added in the last 15 months. Companies that reached unicorn status in Q1 2022: Oura, Viz.ai, Clarify Health Solutions, Omada Health, Somatus, Betterfly, Athelas and Transcarent.
By VC investment activity, digital health insurance is the most funded segment since 2021, followed by telemedicine, which is the sector that raised the most in Q1 2022 ($1.0B). Mental health startups are in second place by VC investment received in Q1 2022. Mental health is the fastest growing sector by VC funding, 2021 growing by 3x vs. 2020.
Healthtech VC funding for the remaining nine months is difficult to predict. With war in Ukraine, Russian sanctions, supply shortages and energy disruptions, these are some of the factors affecting public and private sector investment.
🇺🇸 METiS Therapeutics, an AI-driven drug discovery and delivery platform, raised $150M led by Sequoia Capital China.
🇺🇸 Viz, AI-powered disease detection and care coordination platform, raised $100M in Series D at $1.2B valuation.
🇺🇸 Aurion Biotech, advanced therapies for ocular diseases, raised $120M.
Other notable deals from around the globe:
🇮🇳 Medikabazaar raised $65M in Series D to strengthen its technological capabilities of its B2B medical supply platform.
🇺🇸 Eon Health, a leading provider of incidental findings and screening patient management software, raised $16M.
🇸🇪 Alex Therapeutics, designs and creates CE-certified Digital Therapeutics (DTx) medical products that combine AI with CBT, raised €3.5M to expand in Europe and the U.S. to develop new digital therapeutics with its pharma partners.
There are 279 health startups with founders from top universities that have received less than $1M funding since 2015. 67 health unicorns are from founders from top universities.
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