The Healthtech Times is a weekly newsletter covering healthtech news from Canada and around the globe. Subscribe to H|T using the form at the bottom of this page to ensure you don’t miss out on the most important healthtech news every week!
CloudMD, Think Research announce changes to executive suites (BETAKIT)
Two prominent Canadian medtech companies have announced changes in their executive suite. CloudMD Software & Services Inc. said its founder and CEO, Dr. Essam Hamza, will step down as of Monday, May 2, while Think Research Corporation announced its CFO, Jae Comelssen, is leaving his post as of April 15.
Oura raises capital at $2.55B valuation (FRONT OFFICE SPORTS)
The additional funding will be used for research and development, product and science innovation, and personalized and guided content. Lifeline Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, and MSD Capital have all participated in the company’s funding rounds.
Osler releases multi-year study of 300+ Canadian VC and growth equity financings
Osler’s Emerging and High Growth Companies practice has released its first comprehensive study of 332 anonymized venture capital and growth equity financings from 2019–2021, valued at US$5.7 billion, providing data and insights for founders, entrepreneurs, investors and advisors contemplating transactions this year and beyond.
The report is unique as it draws on both publicly available data on venture capital and growth equity financings, as well as Osler’s confidential anonymized data sources. The report authors have distilled actionable insights on the data, including on common terms and structural considerations.
Read the Deal Points Report: Venture Capital Financings
Cosm Medical raises $4.7 million CAD for its custom gynecological prosthetics (BETAKIT)
Medtech startup Cosm Medical has secured $4.7 million CAD ($3.8 million USD) in an oversubscribed seed round to create custom medical devices for women suffering from pelvic floor disorders.
Clarify Health reaches $1.4 Billion value in SoftBank-led round (BNN BLOOMBERG)
Clarify Health, a health-care data and analytics company, has more than tripled its valuation from last year to $1.4 billion with a financing round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified.
Federal #Budget2022 surprisingly heavy on innovation policy (BETAKIT)
Much desired commitments to innovation clusters, intellectual property (IP), and more have been made. Rather than large cash commitments, many of the promises are program or policy-driven.
Nurse staffing startup IntelyCare hits unicorn status with $115M series C (FIERCE HEALTHCARE)
The tech-enabled startup matches nurses with open assignments in post-acute care settings while managing scheduling and pay rates to give its professionals a “better nurse-life balance.”
Fill out the Sage Intacct x BetaKit Survey for SaaS startups (BETAKIT)
BetaKit has teamed up with Sage Intacct to conduct a brief survey to find out what pain points SaaS startups are running into on a day-to-day basis. Understanding the time it takes to complete financial reporting is critical on the journey to scale and secure their next round of funding. The survey takes less than 3 minutes to complete.
Viz.ai raises $100 million at $1.2 billion valuation to become Israel’s newest unicorn (CALCALIST TECH)
The pace at which new companies have joined Israel’s unicorn list has significantly slowed in 2022 compared to last year, but Viz.ai’s announcement on Thursday also stands out due to its sector of activity.
Flipkart Health+ mobile health app goes live (MOBIHEALTH NEWS)
According to a press statement, the Flipkart Health+ app is providing access to medicines and other healthcare products and services. It combines SastaSundar’s existing network with the Flipkart Group’s reach and last-mile supply chain capabilities.
Cognito Health secures $1.1 million for cross-Canada expansion of its mental health offering (BETAKIT)
Garage Capital led the round with participation from serial entrepreneur Rasool Rayani, Andrew Wilkinson (co-founder of Tiny Capital), Jason Warner (Former CTO of Git-Hub & Heroku), Scott Lake (co-founder Shopify), Tobyn Sowden (CEO and founder Redbrick), and Rob Fraser (CEO and founder endūr). The round closed in late March.
$4 billion health tech startup Olive overpromises and underdelivers (AXIOS)
Olive is the buzzy startup whose purple “go save health care” buses dominate industry conferences. But its promises to save health systems millions of dollars with its automation software don’t deliver.
New report shares stories of the biases women entrepreneurs face raising capital (BETAKIT)
That women technology entrepreneurs must travel longer routes from startup to scale-up is a fact that resonates with Sampler founder and CEO Marie Chevrier Schwartz.
AmerisourceBergen launches $150M venture fund for emerging healthcare companies (FIERCE HEALTHCARE)
The wholesale giant’s new VC fund, called AB Health Ventures, will initially look to invest in early to midstage health-related startups both in the U.S. and abroad. The fund will prioritize investments in startups focused on innovation in pharmacy and distribution, clinical development and commercialization of pharmaceuticals, practice solutions for healthcare providers and animal health, executives said in a press release.
Avi Medical raises €50m to bring back the family doctor experience (SIFTED)
Digital-only healthcare is so 2020. A new generation of VC-backed companies are betting on a combination of slick online care and brick-and-mortar clinics.
Allscripts sells hospital business unit in $700M deal with Constellation subsidiary (FIERCE HEALTHCARE)
Harris will acquire a range of assets from the health IT company’s hospital and large physician practices segment, including Sunrise, Paragon, Touchworks, Opal, dbMotion, STAR and Healthquest solutions.
Zymeworks co-founder, former CEO Ali Tehrani joins Amplitude Ventures as venture partner (BETAKIT)
Precision health-focused investment fund Amplitude Ventures has strengthened its team by adding biotech veteran Ali Tehrani as a venture partner. The move comes shortly after Tehrani stepped down as president and CEO of Vancouver-based Zymeworks, which he co-founded over 18 years ago.
Report: Mental health startups raise $5.5B globally in 2021 (MOBIHEALTHNEWS)
That amounts to a 139% increase from 2020, according to CBInsights’ State of Mental Health Tech 2021 Report.
Canadian venture capital investment hits all-time high of $14.2 billion in 2021 (BETAKIT)
Canadian venture capital (VC) investment hit an astounding mark this past year, increasing 215 percent from 2020. VC investment in 2021 hit $14.2 billion, following a trend of record years for venture investment that blew all past years out of the water.
Cigna plans to invest $450M in venture arm for digital health, analytics (FIERCE HEALTHCARE)
Cigna plans to give its venture capital arm a $450 million boost as part of its strategy to increase the company’s shareholder value and deliver long-term growth.
Five tips for startups exploring buy now, pay later (BETAKIT)
PwC’s Andrew Popliger examines Buy Now, Pay Later’s digital adoption and shares tips for startups to ensure their BNPL experience is future-proof.
Health Canada recalls Fitbit watch due to risk of burns (CBC)
The Fitbit Ionic smartwatch has been recalled in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Curv Health closes $5.1 million to connect employers, insurers with healthcare providers (BETAKIT)
In an interview with BetaKit, Curv co-founder and CEO, Shea Balish, said the startup quickly realized that there was a much larger opportunity to apply the remote monitoring tech it had developed to its own full-stack digital clinic.
Ro expands fertility services with Dadi acquisition (MOBIHEALTHNEWS)
The deal comes less than a year after the direct-to-consumer virtual care company scooped up Modern Fertility.
FGC Health acquires Pharmacy Access Solutions to help independent pharmacies automate (BETAKIT)
Since 2020, the startup has been on a tear acquiring pharmacies, medical clinics, and an EMS service. The PASI acquisition closed on February 3.
Warburg Pincus co-leads latest funding round in Israel’s MDClone (BNN BLOOMBERG)
MDClone, a synthetic medical data startup, raised $63 million from investors led by Warburg Pincus and Viola Growth to fund global expansion.
We need to keep talking about founder mental health (BETAKIT)
Eigenspace co-founder Jesse Rodgers emphasizes the need for founders to talk about mental health, and shares tips on where to get support.
Nayya nabs $55M to expand its recommendation and personalization engine for healthcare and other benefits (TECHCRUNCH)
The startup has been on a fundraising tear in the last year, a mark of how its service has grown during COVID-19.
Subscribe to The Healthtech Times
Don’t forget to subscribe to The Healthtech Times using the form below to make sure it hits your email inbox every week!
