Southeast HealthTech Found New Ways To Innovate in 2022

Digital health was the hot topic for VCs after the pandemic, with funding in the space reaching $29 billion in 2021 alone.

While telehealth led the initial innovation push, startups and VCs now looking to tackle other problems found across the US healthcare system. 

While venture funding fell year-over-year, 2022 has still been lucrative for the Southeast HealthTech scene. 63 companies in the region closed venture rounds over the last 90 days, according to available Crunchbase data, including Motivo Health ($14 million Series A), Nashville-based Psych Hub ($16 million Series A), and Brentwood-based CareHarmony ($15 millions Series A). 

As we’ve been tracking the growing HealthTech scene in the Southeast, these are some trends and founders that have caught our attention: 

 

STREAMLINING HEALTHCARE COMMUNICATION 

Creating better communication tools for healthcare professionals has been a big recent focus for venture-backed startups. 

One such startup is Durham-based Pattern Health, a platform designed to help researchers and clinicians streamline digital health programs. Pattern closed a $3.3 million Series A round at the end of September, led by the Dr. William H. Joyce Family Office alongside existing investors Cofounders Capital, The Launch Place, and the Triangle Tweener Fund. 

The hybrid team is now 19 people strong, and CEO Ed Barber told Hypepotamus that the platform is focused on “enabling better, faster, more cost effective deployment of digital health programs” and increasing the type of healthcare-related customers it serves. 

Another communication-focused platform that has raised funds recently is The Rounds, a collaboration platform designed specifically for healthcare professionals. CEO Tim Rice said The Rounds is all about connecting healthcare professionals with networking capabilities, learning opportunities, and peer-to-peer insights. 

The Canadian startup recently closed a $5.1 million (CAD) Series A investment from Atlanta-based Panoramic Ventures, which will “propel the business to continued dominance and leadership in the Canadian market and to fund the expansion of its platform into the US market,” according to Panoramic’s Austin Poole.

The Panoramic team connected with The Rounds through ScaleUp Hub Atlanta, a program to connect high-growth Canadian startups with sales, investment, and growth opportunities in the Southeast. 

Medicine often branches beyond one specific specialty, so having a variety of medical specialties on the platform allows the opportunity for cross collaboration which can really support rare diseases, improved referral pathways, and better patient care,” Rice told Hypepotamus. 

Rice said the team will likely start recruiting talent in the US, mainly Atlanta and Boston, in 2023.

 

BUILDING SOMETHING NEW 

But it is not just healthcare platforms that have been making a splash in the Southeast startup community. A number of local medical device startups have raised funds recently, including Endoluxe, BioCircuit Technologies, and OXOS Medical.  

As home base for the CDC, the American Cancer Society, and many of the largest health systems in the country, the Southeast is a natural hub for HealthTech and MedTech innovation. And that has kept local and national investors interested in startups throughout the region. 

We believe there is a tremendous opportunity for improvement in how our healthcare system operates. Despite having some of the most well-trained doctors and nurses in the world; the US spends significantly more on healthcare than other countries (no matter how you cut the data, 20% of US GDP, spent $4.1 trillion in 2020 on healthcare services, $12,500/person) and gets subpar results relative to the dollars spent. When there is a disconnect between dollars spent and value created, there usually exists a great opportunity to innovate,” Poole told Hypepotamus via email.