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#12 🍩 What the Health - Big Techs On a Roll, and Raises & Jobs for Days

Your fortnightly healthtech TL;DR roundup... ok this ones a little long, sorry

Emily Casey

Jul 26, 2021

Oh hey there, friend!
And welcome to the 77 newbies to the crew

Given the current situation, there’s a good chance you’re a part of the lockdown club right now. Condolences.

In all seriousness, I hope you’re doing ok.

Pre warning - this is a little (stupidly) long. So, to fix this, we’re going to try doing things a little differently. Divide and conquer, less is more etc… I’ll share details soon.

But this will also include our little raise round-up (thanks to all those who submitted, sorry it’s not in this one)! If you’re raising & want to be featured - Fill out this form

Noteworthy 🗞️

Funding Fun

🏃‍♀️Fitness app, Sweat by SA power couple was acquired by iFIT for US$300m

👕 Post $4m raise, NDIS platform Provider Choice announces the launch of parent company T-shirt Ventures

A ‘profit for purpose’ health tech using a multibrand strategy to create new consumer-facing brands and innovative products in the disability and health space

🚀 Eucalyptus got a $30m Series B to supercharge their healthcare house of brands

🎾 Tennis Australia lobs into VC launching Wildcard Ventures, targeting tech and health startups

🧬 BioTech Clarity Pharmaceuticals targets IPO in August at ~$92m to take its cancer-targeting products to oncologists around the world

🧠 Brain Mapping Software company Omniscient Neurotechnology’s $40m Series B is backed by big wigs including Gina Rinehart & Will Vicars

🚒 HealthEngine eyes IPO lining up a roadshow for a $100m raise

🥝 NZ’s Icehouse Ventures new $75m fund set to help scale kiwi startups

🚜 Tractor ventures add Age Up Health to its portfolio, an Aged Care Provider offering a more flexible approach to in-home support

🤑 VentureCrowd raised $31m for alt investments in FY21 with health killing including Cardihab, 4DMedical & recent pre-IPO funding for Cubed Biotech

🏉 Men’s digital health clinic Mosh is raising $10m with investors including Tinder co-founders and former rugby star

Worth Knowing

🧘‍♂️ Drop Bio launched WellBeing - a personalised view of your health combining your lifestyle habits with data from a small finger-prick blood sample

🧼 Planet Innovation has a new ‘cleanroom’ in Melbourne, eyeing increased MedTech manufacturing in Aus

🍼 Milkdrop is searching for lead investors for its seed round & has already locked in the support of Kate Morris and Flying Fox Ventures’ Kylie Frazer

🦠 Discovery at Peter Mac and the Peter Doherty Institute could help create a targeted treatment for COVID19

Scientists have found a way to stop the SARS-CoV-2 virus from replicating in infected human cells using CRISPR technology in studies

🧪GenesisCare launches new early-stage breast cancer test

🏗️GBS, the guys responsible for the Saliva Glucose Biosensor, got US$4.7m from the gov to manufacture biosensor technology in APAC

They also plan on commercialising the ARS-CoV-2 Antibody Biosensor rapid point-of-care test to monitor real-time exposure & immunity levels for COVID-19

🍾 Manuri Gunawardena, Founder of Healthmatch, bags Veuve Clicquot’s 2021 Bold Future Award

🎓 UNSW got $9.9m in Australian Research Council grants to design & deploy biosensors to help health outcomes with industry partners set to launch global

Accelerator Updates

Remarkable’s latest cohort had a badass demo day - replay here
LuminaX’s cohort in QLD had a killer IRL pitch day - watch here
Startmates new cohort launched including 2 healthtechs
SBE launched its latest cohort of women in the Enterprises Life Sciences Program

US & Beyond the Borders

☁️ Amazon launches AWS for Health, cloud solutions for enterprises and startups

For Healthcare, Genomics, and Biopharma

🌈 Google Cloud introed Healthcare Data Engine which might actually be a step towards Interoperability in Healthcare… And is in practice with the Mayo Clinic

What does this actually mean?
Supposed end-to-end solutions connecting data from multiple sources, including medical records, claims, clinical trials, and research… ft AI & API capabilities & FHIR standards. Ie connected, “secure” and complete usable data… sounds too good to be true.

🖥️ Microsoft joins forces with Teladoc to bring telehealth to Teams for clinicians

📱 Happify Health launches the First Prescription Digital Therapeutics to treat Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) or Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

🆓 Walmart offers free health screenings nationwide in a smart PR play

🗣️Amazon Care is reportedly trying to sweet talk multiple health insurers to expand and cover its telemedicine and primary care services

❤️ CVS Health surfaced some sick stats on increasing consumerisation of health and plummeting trust and usage of primary care

🍎 Apple gets ready to release new “Walking Steadiness” measure to help prevent falls in older people, providing a glimpse into the research…

But raises the question… How much should tech companies disclose about health research?

🚲 UnitedHealthcare to Provide Millions of Members with Access to the Peloton - Showing the insurer’s investment trend into preventative health

🎮 And Peloton is getting into gaming… just like Netflix and every other tech company. Viva la gamification revolution!

Squarepeg’s Aidoc raises an additional $66m Series C to continue their AI mission

Startup Stuff 🚀

🏃‍♂️Want to Build With YC? Join the 2021 Build Sprint!

The Build Sprint is 4-week program for intense focus on your startup or side-project, or finally launch that idea you’re sitting on - More here

🌏 Looking for Funding & Support From the Best in the Biz?

Hyper, the new fund from Product Hunt, will be writing $300k checks for 5% of early companies in any area ft added support from a top pool of global mentors - More here

🎉 Want to Connect With Smart Operators and Innovators to Design Medtech Solutions?

MedHack, Melbourne’s largest student-run Healthtech hackathon is on the hunt for mentors, co-designers and orgs keen to get involved! If you're interested, want provide a prize & connect with talent... fill out this EOI

🔬Want to Join Global Leaders, Movers & Shakers in Deck Deep Tech?

On Deck is launching On Deck Deep Tech for global founders, operators and minds looking to found, join and advise the next-gen of deep tech companies - More here

💵 Vic Startup Looking to Cut Costs? LaunchVics Got Fab Freebies

LaunchVic subscribed to Proven, a new marketplace where startups can access deals and discounts from some of the world's leading service providers for free - More here

💸 NSW Health & Cicada Have Commercialisation Programs for Days

Find out more and register for their first event on Intellectual Property here

🇦🇺 From OS and Looking to Expand to Aus?

City of Sydney’s free program can help you with your expansion strategy in 2 weeks ft content, connections, support & service provides - More here

👩‍💻Woman Considering a Leap Into Startups and Looking for Your Tribe?

Join the next cohort of Startmate’s Women’s Fellowship! Learn the ins and outs of startup world, meet incredible operators & join a community for life - Apps open

For more ops check out the last roundup here

Events💥

Tues 27th Jul: Startup Victoria Pitch Night: Life Sciences & HealthTech

Wed 28th Jul: Aged Care Innovation Summit

Wed 28th Jul: AirTree’s Open Source VC Meetups

Thurs 29th Jul: StartUp Health Moonshots Impact Fund Webinar

Thurs 29th Jul: Introduction to Startup Investment with Luna Startup Studio

Fri 30th Jul: Startup Success Series: Commercialising Research into a Viable Startup

Wed 4th Aug: BioForum - Our Health Epidemic: The Need for Innovation in Treatment

Consumable Content 💎

🦄 a16z’s Bio Eats World: Building Digital Health’s Github

🎙Passionate Pioneers with Mike Biselli: Optimizing Patient Education with Tim Fitzpatrick CEO of IKONA Health, discusses how they aim to provide care through storytelling, technology, and learning science while tackling health literacy barriers

💹 Rock Health’s H1 2021 Digital Health Funding Report is always a good read

💻 Mckinsey’s deep dive into telehealth: A quarter-trillion-dollar post-COVID-19 reality? is an interesting looking at behaviours of consumers, investors and providers

🏙 NYC really is the centre of the (digital health) world with H1 of 2021 making health history with US$5.2B across 123 companies, 88% in digital health

💰Because Tech Twitter sometimes is a little BS about fundraising read Amira Valliani’s A Beginner’s Guide to Raising a Seed Round

Juicy Jobs 🔥

Other Opps ✨

Woman Interested in Global Health? Join the New Women in Global Health (WGH) Group!

WGH is a global network of over 30,000 supporters in 90 countries and has 23 official chapters - More here or join (its free)

First Foray Into Venture Capital Fundraising and Want to Learn More?

The Australian Investment Council is excited to be offering its refreshed VC101 program - More here

Interested in Digital Health and Health Informatics?

Join AIDH’s Emerging Professionals Network a community to connect, learn and grow with other experts and industry legends - More here

Involved in the AusDigital Health Scene? Share Your Experiences in the Latest Industry Survey!

ANDHealth is seeking input to identify gaps, challenges and opportunities in digital health commercialisation - Have your say here

That’s all folks. Promise we’ll be a tad shorter soon

Until next time

👋 Emily

What the Health?!