Rock Health just released their year-in-review funding report for the digital health industry. Spoiler alert: it’s a good space to be in. Whether you are an entrepreneur, an investor, or simply a curious reader who wants to be informed about what all the buzz is about, we recommend taking a few minutes to skim through their 16-slide deck on Slideshare: 2012 Digital Health Funding Year in Review. Some of the key findings that they thought deserved highlighting are:
- VC funding of digital health grew significantly in 2012, with 45% more investment and 56% more deals than in 2011
- For comparison, VC funding of biotech is down 4% and medical devices is down 16%; software is up 19%
- 134 digital health companies each raised more than $2 million dollars in 2012
- Only 8 investors made 3 or more digital health investments, the remaining 171 identified investors made just 1-2 investments
- Digital health companies based in the Bay Area and Boston area represent more than 40% of all 2012 funding
We asked Rock Health’s CEO, Halle Tecco, a few questions about her take on the report:
Shiv Gaglani, Medgadget: What surprised you most about the state of digital health funding in 2012?
Halle Tecco: The growth in terms of dollars flowing into the space, and diversity of companies funded. Startups are going after big problems in healthcare.
Medgadget: Do you have any predictions on how 2013 will compare?
Tecco: We anticipate another year of growth in terms of investment, and hope to see some nice exits too.
Medgadget: 80 percent of the digital health backers each only invested in one company. Do you think this indicates a general cautiousness among investors?
Tecco: Just the opposite — we think this illustrates the broad interest from investors across the spectrum of healthcare and technology. More people than ever have their eye on this space.
Medgadget: How does the general employee gender split compare to that of the CEOs? Why do you think there are so few female CEOs in this space?
Tecco: We didn’t do analysis on employee gender breakdown. There is a need to mentor and recruit female executives across all industries, which is why we support the XX in Health initiative (see more here: rockhealth.com/xx).
