When I first started exploring the world of health startups, I faced the same confusion many of you might be experiencing right now. With a plethora of information online, it was challenging to find genuine, helpful insights.
Having now immersed myself in this dynamic sector for a substantial period, I'm excited to share my discoveries and insights in this article, aiming to clear your queries and offer a comprehensive understanding of health startups.
21 Best Health Startups In 2024
SonderMind
SonderMind, based in Denver, is revolutionizing the way we approach behavioral health. This innovative digital platform is designed to connect individuals with therapists who are not only geographically accessible but also align with their specific needs and insurance providers.
My experience with SonderMind revealed its commitment to both in-person and telehealth appointments, catering to diverse preferences and circumstances.
The company is ambitiously building a network of behavioral health clinicians. This network offers a range of services including client-matching, payment support, and advanced technology tools. This strategic approach has led SonderMind to impressive financial growth.
The company raised a staggering $183 million in funding, with its Series C round alone bringing in $150 million. This funding is fueling its expansion across the nation.
Valued at over $1 billion, SonderMind has rightfully earned its status as a unicorn in the digital health space. Its platform includes a tailored questionnaire, assisting consumers in finding the most suitable care.
What stands out is the evidence suggesting improved patient outcomes through their services. This aligns with my understanding that effective, personalized mental health care is crucial in today’s fast-paced world.
Hinge Health
Hinge Health, founded in 2014 by Daniel Perez and Gabriel Mecklenburg, is a game-changer in the musculoskeletal (MSK) care industry. This company is steadfast in its mission to make high-quality MSK care universally accessible.
I've observed that it goes beyond traditional methods by offering a digital clinic specifically designed for joint and muscle pain. This approach combines expert clinical care with cutting-edge technologies, including Enso®, computer vision, and more.
One of the most impactful goals of Hinge Health is its focus on helping individuals overcome pain, avoid unnecessary surgeries, and reduce reliance on opioids. In my experience, this holistic approach is transformative for those dealing with chronic pain.
Financially, Hinge Health is a powerhouse in its domain. With a total funding of $854 million, its valuation stood at an impressive $6.2 billion as of October 2021. The company's innovative offerings include sensor bands, a tablet computer, and other accessories.
These tools are instrumental in guiding participants through exercises and treatments tailored for chronic pain management. From my perspective, the integration of technology and clinical expertise is what sets Hinge Health apart in the field of digital health.
Meru Health
Meru Health stands out with its 12-week program, designed to foster significant improvements in mental health. This program is unique in its structure, offering a clear and concise roadmap for change.
I've noticed that it's inclusively integrated into many health plans, making it accessible to a wider audience.
A key aspect of Meru Health's approach is the use of heart rate variability data and guided breath work. This combination reflects a deep understanding of the physiological and psychological aspects of mental well-being.
The company's funding, totaling $38 million as of September 2021, underscores the confidence investors have in its innovative methods.
The effectiveness of Meru Health's program is evident in its results. According to the company, 73% of participants experience clinically significant improvement upon completing the program, and an impressive 59% achieve remission from symptoms of depression or anxiety.
In my view, these statistics not only highlight the program's efficacy but also its potential to revolutionize mental health care.
Lyra Health
Founded in 2015, Lyra Health has quickly risen to prominence in the mental health sector, securing a whopping $915 million in funding to date.
The company's mission is to make mental health care more accessible, personalized, and effective, a goal that resonates deeply with my understanding of the current needs in mental health services.
Lyra Health's partnership with over 300 companies to offer mental health benefits is particularly notable. This initiative has enabled the company to reach over 15 million people, illustrating its widespread impact.
Following a $235 million Series G funding round, Lyra Health's valuation soared to $5.58 billion, reflecting its growing influence in the field.
The range of services provided by Lyra Health is comprehensive, covering preventive care, mental health coaching, therapy, and medication management.
This holistic approach to mental health care, in my opinion, is what sets Lyra Health apart and positions it as a leader in transforming how mental health services are delivered and experienced.
BetterUp
BetterUp, founded in 2013, is a mental health and coaching startup that has significantly impacted the way organizations support their employees' mental well-being and personal development.
My exploration of BetterUp revealed its emphasis on personalized coaching, a method that has proven effective in fostering both personal and professional growth.
In a recent financial milestone, BetterUp secured $300 million in a Series E funding round, elevating its valuation to an impressive $4.7 billion. The company's product portfolio, including BetterUp Care™, stands out for its comprehensive approach.
This enterprise-wide offering combines 1:1 and group coaching with on-demand coaching on a variety of topics, including diversity and inclusion, parenting, and more.
BetterUp's client base is expansive, serving over 380 enterprise businesses, including notable names like Hilton, Salesforce, bp, NASA, Chevron, and Snap Inc. This wide-reaching influence underscores the company's effectiveness and reputation in the corporate world.
Additionally, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, holds the position of Chief Impact Officer at BetterUp. His involvement brings a unique perspective to the company's mission, reinforcing its commitment to creating lasting positive impact in mental health and coaching.
WorkIt Health
WorkIt Health is a telemedicine provider that specializes in treatment for opioid and alcohol addiction, including medications like Suboxone and naltrexone.
My examination of WorkIt Health's offerings shows a deep commitment to accessible and effective addiction treatment.
The company's app stands out for its adherence to stringent privacy standards, being secure, WCAG-accessible, and SOC 2 Type II compliant. This focus on patient privacy is crucial in the sensitive field of addiction treatment.
WorkIt Health is recognized as an industry leader in telehealthcare, offering online, on-demand evidence-based addiction treatment. This approach aligns with the growing need for flexible and immediate healthcare software, especially in the realm of addiction recovery.
The impact of WorkIt Health's program is evident in the testimonials from many of its members. These stories highlight the positive and transformative effect of the company's services on individuals recovering from addiction.
From my perspective, WorkIt Health's innovative approach and commitment to patient care make it a key player in revolutionizing addiction treatment through telemedicine.
Brightline
Brightline is a pioneering virtual mental health care provider that caters specifically to children and teenagers.
My exploration of Brightline's services revealed their commitment to not only the young individuals in need of care but also to the parents and caregivers who support them.
They offer a range of resources, skills-based programs led by expert behavioral health coaches, and personalized treatment through video consultations with specialized psychologists and psychiatrists.
Founded by Naomi Allen, who navigated the complex behavioral health space for her own child, Brightline stands as a testament to the need for specialized mental health services for younger populations. This personal foundation adds a layer of authenticity and understanding to their services.
Despite facing significant challenges, including layoffs that affected 20% of its workforce, Brightline has demonstrated resilience and continued relevance in the mental health sector. This is highlighted by the substantial funding it received, including a $105 million Series C raise.
From my perspective, Brightline's journey reflects the dynamic and sometimes challenging landscape of mental health startups, yet their commitment to providing specialized care for children and teenagers remains steadfast.
Vori Health
Vori Health is an innovative healthcare startup focusing on musculoskeletal care, blending technology, community, and comprehensive care teams. My examination of Vori Health's approach reveals a modern, holistic method to treating musculoskeletal conditions.
The company's recent $45 million Series A funding round, led by New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA), speaks volumes about its potential and the trust investors have in its vision.
Vori Health offers an extensive range of services, including full-service physical medicine and rehabilitation care, physical therapy, prescriptions, imaging & lab ordering, health coaching, and nutritional guidance.
What sets Vori Health apart is its integrated approach to musculoskeletal health. By combining advanced medical care with support systems like health coaching and nutritional advice, Vori Health addresses both the physical and lifestyle aspects of musculoskeletal conditions.
This comprehensive approach, from my standpoint, is crucial in effectively managing and treating these conditions, offering patients a more rounded and effective care experience.
Clipboard Health
Clipboard Health, a Series C startup, has carved a niche in connecting healthcare facilities with nurses nearby. My exploration of Clipboard Health revealed an innovative approach to healthcare staffing.
The company's impressive two-sided network effect has led to a significant product-market fit, evident in their remarkable revenue growth of 25x in the last 18 months.
The mission of Clipboard Health is particularly striking: enabling healthcare professionals to work flexibly, choosing when and where they want.
This mission is realized through their app-based marketplace, a platform that allows healthcare professionals to book on-demand shifts. This system also benefits healthcare facilities by providing access to on-demand staffing solutions.
Clipboard Health's funding journey, raising $80 million over two rounds and bringing their total financing to over $90 million, reflects the company's success and growth potential.
Operating in several major cities, including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York, Clipboard Health has positively impacted tens of thousands of healthcare professionals since its founding in 2016.
Embleema
Embleema is an innovative software platform that is transforming the way precision medicine is delivered to patients. Founded in 2017 and based in Metuchen, New Jersey, Embleema focuses on collecting and generating regulatory-grade evidence.
My understanding of Embleema's platform is that it plays a pivotal role in identifying and operationalizing value-based payment models for various stakeholders in the healthcare industry.
A unique aspect of Embleema's approach is its emphasis on empowering patients with rare diseases.
The platform allows these patients to own and share their data, disrupting the traditional real-world evidence collection process. This patient-centric approach not only enhances research but also puts patients at the forefront of their healthcare journey.
The use of blockchain technology by Embleema is a groundbreaking move. It enables the secure linking of patient data to researchers, allowing patients to share their information with critical stakeholders, such as clinical researchers.
With a total of $3.82 million raised in funding, Embleema is positioned to make significant advancements in the way patient data is utilized in medical research and treatment.
Headspace
Headspace, founded in May 2010 by Andy Puddicombe and Richard Pierson, is on a mission to provide accessible lifelong mental health support to everyone.
As someone who values mental well-being, I find Headspace's approach both innovative and necessary. The company offers an array of mindfulness tools for everyday life, including meditations, sleepcasts, mindful movement, and focus exercises.
Operating through its online platform, Headspace provides sessions of guided meditation aimed at fostering mindfulness among its users. The platform's accessibility through both its website and mobile apps on iPhone and Android makes it a versatile resource for users seeking mental health support.
Headspace's focus on guided meditation and mindfulness tools aligns with the growing awareness and need for accessible mental health resources.
The company's commitment to making these tools available to a broad audience reflects a deep understanding of the diverse needs of individuals seeking mental health support in today's fast-paced world.
nference
nference, a science-first software company founded in 2013 and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is at the forefront of transforming healthcare data. Their partnership with medical centers focuses on turning the wealth of data contained in electronic medical records (EMR) into powerful, actionable software tools.
My experience with nference's services showed their prowess in synthesizing decades of rich, predominantly unstructured EMR data.
The company's primary services involve developing software products that facilitate the conversion of unstructured information into structured data. This includes the digitization of pathology and molecular sequencing, which are crucial in advancing medical research and treatment.
nference's funding journey has been impressive, with a total of $146.34 million raised. This substantial financial backing underlines the market's confidence in their approach to healthcare data analysis and their potential to significantly impact medical research and patient care.
Novoic
Novoic is an AI-enabled software company that is breaking new ground in detecting cognitive impairments and Alzheimer's neuropathology based on speech patterns.
As a clinical-stage biotechnology company, Novoic is developing algorithms that can detect neurological diseases like Alzheimer's in their preclinical stages by analyzing audio-linguistic speech patterns.
Currently, Novoic is testing these algorithms in clinical settings, aiming to bring the first clinically viable speech-based algorithms to the market. This endeavor is particularly groundbreaking, as it offers a non-invasive and potentially early detection method for Alzheimer's disease.
The company's collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation and Gates Ventures is a significant endorsement of their work.
Novoic's proprietary dataset, which includes recordings of Alzheimer's patients' speech, is analyzed using advanced techniques like automatic speech recognition (ASR), computational linguistics, and natural language processing (NLP).
Aunt Bertha (Findhelp)
Aunt Bertha, now rebranded as Findhelp, is a social care technology company that is making a substantial impact in various sectors.
Findhelp's technology is utilized by leading businesses and organizations across healthcare, higher education, government, housing, criminal justice, and more.
The technology provided by Findhelp enables customers to create branded platforms that connect them with nearby social care resources. This approach facilitates a more streamlined and accessible way for people to find the help they need.
Findhelp's social care network is extensive, featuring over 536,269 distinct program locations. This network plays a crucial role in providing assistance to millions of people, demonstrating the company's expansive reach and impact.
Moreover, Findhelp's partnerships with government agencies and community organizations are central to their mission. They provide vital services, including self-referrals and assisted navigation to resources such as housing, food, healthcare, legal aid, and more.
This approach to social care technology showcases Findhelp's commitment to making a difference in the lives of those in need, bridging the gap between individuals and essential services.
Paige.ai is a standout in the field of pathology, harnessing the capabilities of AI to provide labs with precise, confident diagnoses. As the first and only company to receive FDA approval for an AI application in pathology, Paige.ai sets a high standard in this domain.
In my exploration of their products, it's clear they are trusted and utilized by leading hospitals and laboratories globally.
The company's AI technologies are particularly impressive, built on some of the largest datasets worldwide. This foundation not only transforms pathology as a field but also makes generative AI accessible to doctors, enhancing their diagnostic capabilities.
Paige.ai's expansion into breast cancer diagnosis is a noteworthy development. By employing AI solutions, they are reducing false negatives and significantly increasing pathologists’ efficiency. This advancement is a crucial step in improving cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Their partnership with Microsoft, adopting Microsoft Azure as the cloud provider for FullFocus, an FDA-cleared whole-slide image viewer, further solidifies Paige.ai's commitment to integrating cutting-edge technology in pathology.
Beddr
Beddr, a health technology company, is at the forefront of revolutionizing sleep health through digital solutions. Their mission to improve the quality of life for millions by enhancing sleep is embodied in their product, Beddr SleepTuner.
This solution comprises a mobile app and an FDA-listed sensor, which users wear on their upper forehead while sleeping.
The sensor's capabilities are comprehensive, capturing heart rate, heart rate spikes, blood oxygen saturation, stopped breathing events, and sleep position.
This data, accessible in the app each morning, provides users with clinical-grade insights into their sleep patterns and potential issues.
What makes Beddr's approach unique is the ability for consumers to track and identify trends in their sleep over time. This long-term perspective is essential for understanding and improving sleep health, making Beddr a significant player in the digital health technology space.
Tomorrow Health
Tomorrow Health, a healthcare startup based in New York, New York, has made a significant mark with its $92.5M Series B funding. This substantial investment indicates strong confidence in the company's potential to impact the healthcare industry.
While specific details about Tomorrow Health's services or mission are not provided, the level of funding suggests a commitment to innovation and growth within the healthcare sector.
The New York base also positions the company in a vibrant hub for healthcare and technology, likely providing ample opportunities for collaboration and advancement in the field.
Breathe99
Breathe99, founded in 2018 by Max Bock-Aronson, Coleman Rollins, and Joél Valdez Jr., made a significant impact in the respiratory protection market with its B2 Mask.
Recognized as one of TIME Magazine's Best Inventions of 2020, the B2 Mask is a notable alternative to traditional N95 masks, offering a reusable design with changeable filters.
Designed with people suffering from respiratory issues like asthma in mind, the B2 Mask provides effective protection against pollutants. Its ability to filter up to 99.6% of particles at 0.1 micron and its full face seal feature stand out in the market for respiratory masks.
The acquisition of Breathe99 by Armbrust American in 2023 was a strategic move that ensured the continuation of sales and production of the B2 Mask.
This acquisition underlines the importance and success of Breathe99's mission to make high-quality respiratory protection accessible to all.