#18 🍩 What the Health - The Medical Metaverse, Health Hype Curves, COVID Pills & Conferences (yay)
#18 🍩 What the Health - The Medical Metaverse, Health Hype Curves, COVID Pills & Conferences (yay)
Your fortnightly healthtech TL;DR roundup
Oh hello there… new here? Want the latest healthtech happenings and insights ft no BS and gifs direct to your inbox? Join our crew of >1000 healthtech loving legends and subscribe below 😊
Ok, so we missed a week… ok two…
But we’re back, and TODAY I’M GOING TO AN IRL CONFERENCE *wipes tear*
Informa Innovate Health 2021 🎉 If you’re here too - come say hey.
Apparently, healthtech really is so hot right now…
Our Demystifying Funding in Healthtech Panel had 115 people show last Wednesday and 215 register, with far too much killer content for time constraints. Big thanks to our boss panellists again ❤️
On a personal note…
Since I get to talk with so many fab founders on their raising journeys and play connector amongst you wonderful people, I’m stoked to be joining the Airtree Explorers Program to level up and learn from some absolute legends about Angel Investing.
If you’re raising or looking to soon and want to chat - flick me a note 📧 😊
🔥 Jobs, Jobs, Fabulous Jobs 🔥
Check out the WTH Jobs Board for roles in (almost) every imaginable area of Health Innovation…
Hunting for good humans to hire? Want to get featured here? Post away!
Noteworthy 🗞️
Funding Fun
👂Hemideina, a hearing implant startup closed a $10m Series A
💰 Inosi Therapeutics bags $1.5m to accelerate the treatment of fibrosis
♥️ Kynd, the disability support service platform got $2m
🏥 Atidia subtly celebrated the close of their seed round to improve surgical efficiency and effectiveness through perioperative decision support
👩⚕️ HotDoc, the medical booking platform that smashed the vax rollout is raising $30m to capitalise on momentum, adding an extra 4m first time users taking them to a total of 11m… For comparison Health Engine recently revealed they had 3.9m users
Funds are popping up flippin everywhere…
🌱Liverpool Partners reaches its first close with $350m for its new Impact Multi-Strategy Fund
💵 Rampersand is raising another $40m for its fourth “future tech” Fund
🔔 Genesis Capital announced the close of their $190m Fund 1 for healthcare including a new vehicle just for startups
Worth Knowing
📱Bupa has Benefits… Launching new health app Benefit Pocket ft. cashback rewards from health and wellbeing partners including fitness, groceries, skincare & activewear
💉Aussie scientists may have uncovered the key to making vaccines effective against all mutated strains of COVID19 and pave the way for a universal vax
👏 Euc launched their 5th brand - Juniper for menopause (hot topic right now)
💜 Human said hello to the world with their mission to “make healing easy” through scientific tools for consumers and health professionals
🍁 MTPConnect developed a report outlining the Challenges and Opps for Australia’s Medicinal Cannabis Industry
🎓 Ducere is launching a global MBA in Digital Health Transformation with Torrens University Australia
🥇Coviu bagged Australian Technology Company of the Year
US & Beyond the Borders
✅ The UK just approved an oral antiviral to treat COVID patients
💊 Pfizer has a new pill treating COVID that so far has been shown to reduce hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk patients by 89%…
But they’re also in hot water with a researcher blowing the whistle on vaccine testing practices… Shock
💪 MSK startup Hinge Health raised another $400m valuing it at $6.3 billion and round brings the company’s total raise to more than $1b
The Medical Futurist released a sick hype cycle to outlining 50 of the hottest trends - with where we’re actually at and we’re going
😃 JAMA’s paper on Emojis for the Medical Community—Challenges and Opportunities show amazing possibilities in health… including increased accessibility, relatability, literacy & understanding
Meta, Metaverse and Big Tech Making moves
♾ Facebook changed to Meta
(Em thats not health-related)… but wait…
The possibilities, happenings and implications for health are VERY real
Zucks is acquiring Within, the developer of Supernatural, a Beat Saber-style workout app and top success story in VR fitness…
They’re turning off the facial recognition program & dropped Oculus
🚀 Amazon…
Alexa moves into hospitals and aged care facilities
Unveiled a connected home air quality monitor that works with Alexa
💻 Microsoft …
Joins the metaverse, unveiling “Mesh” for Microsoft teams… a collaborative VR world where you can interact with avatars (So…Sims upgrade?)
Joins forces with Babylon, a global value-based care company to explore opps to accelerate and enhance current AI and Machine Learning, to shift the focus to preventative health care
🌎 Google…
Is launching a new company using AI for drug discovery, Isomorphic Laboratories
Ramps up the mental health focus bringing former Headspace Exec on board
Says on record they’re still ‘all in’ on health care
Transitions its first health org fully to the Google Workspace and Chrome OS devices… and looks to deploy AI/ML
Startup Stuff 🚀
🎉 Want to join Australia’s most ambitious accelerator?
Apps for Startmate are now open ft. a top tier program and 120k in funds. If you're an ambitious founder wanting to tackle a big problem - Apply now
🚨PSA🚨 Their Open House is this week packed full of awesome events👆Series A Startup looking to lift your game with the best in the biz?
Join the 2022 Upside Founders Program and learn from people who know the founder journey, with peers at the same stage as you & >40 experts - More here
🤖 Innovative Medtech or Digital Health solution looking for a boost?
Enter Medtronic APACs Innovation Challenge! You just need a legally registered business and a solution solving at least one of the problem statements - More here
🌍 Looking for a global accelerator to take your idea to the next level?
On Deck launched ODX, a $100m community fund to accelerate founders with $125k and access to the stellar On Deck network - More here
🇮🇳 Digital Health or MedTech Startup looking to expand to India?
Join Austrade’s AIBX virtual BootCamp ft AstraZeneca, CSIRO & ANDHealth to help you increase knowledge and networks to scale into India - More Here
🚺 Female founder keen to chat to the stellar Square Peg Team?
They’ve set aside office hours exclusively for female founders on Fridays to talk to Lucy Tan and Jethro - Book here
💴 Exploring a new and/or improved product to commercialise?
Apply for the CSIROs Kick Start Grants. You get dollar-matched funding of $10k-$50k and access to their experts to run research and projects to commercialise - More here
📣 Pitch Venture Capital is also opening up office hours
Want help with how to validate my startup ideas, pitch deck feedback, finding co-founders or raising? Book a 20-minute slot here
🌈 Microsoft wants to help you on your journey from idea to exit
They’ve got a new platform for founders to preview. They’ll be including up to $350k in benefits including Azure credits, and expert coaching - More here
Events💥
Tue 9th Nov: MedTechVic futuremap workshops
Tue 9th Nov: Tech23 Circle Program i4, Robotics and Manufacturing
Wed 10th Nov: Pack More Impact into your Conversations by Knowing Your ROI
Thu 11th Nov: Founder Connect - HerStartup powered by AWS
Thu 11th Nov: How to build a global health company, with Founder Manuri Gunawardena
Fri 12th Nov: Tech23 Circle Program Supporting our Mental Health and Wellbeing
16th-17th Nov: Connect 2021: The Global Early Talent Summit hosted by Forage
16th-19th Nov: BioPharma Masterclass 1: Creating a Value Story for Your Product
Wed 17th Nov: International Summit on Psychedelic Assisted Therapies for Mental Illness
Consumable Content 💎
🎥 Benjamin Schwartz has an interesting talk at the InnovatorMD World Congress 2021 meeting on Beyond the Buzz: Making Healthcare Innovation Last
🔍 Search has always sucked… but now a Giant, free index to the world’s research papers has been released with billions of phrases from 107 million papers and could ease computerized searching of the literature
The catalogue has tables of more than 355 billion words and sentence fragments listed next to the articles in which they appear in hopes to help scientists use software to glean insights from published work… even if they don’t have legal access to the complete papers
💴 There’s a Great Competition to Give Away Money on right now… Vice goes into how “Flush with cash, venture capitalists are fighting to invest in startups they often know less and less about.”
💰Techcrunch goes into Fintech’s growing role in the healthcare revolution
📚 Mckinsey has a report delving into Digital health ecosystems: Voices of key healthcare leaders
Other Opps ✨
Professional woman looking to pivot into the tech sector?
SheDares is a free online learning experience where you’ll discover how you can use your unique skill set in the world of tech
Looking to make the jump from corporate to a startup?
Stone & Chalk’s free Pivott Mentor Program matches you up with a legendary mentor to help you learn what it takes to make the leap
SME or Scaleup in NSW commercialising products addressing the impacts of COVID19?
The NSW Gov R&D Fund for SMEs and scaleups has up to $1m up for grabs
Passionate about creating connections for Vic’s youth to improve mental health?
VicHealth is launching The Big Connect,is looking for major programs/ideas that increase access to opportunities for young people to build meaningful social connections with $100k-$250k grants up for grabs
Holy Moley… That’s a lot… and what happens when you let things stack up
Did I miss something or have something you want to share? Hit reply
See you soon (maybe IRL)
👋 Emily
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