Hi friends,
This week: AI takes over, a sort-of healthtech unicorn is born, and it’s April, so experts are arguing about digital health funding.
News Bites 🥪
🗒️ OpenAI-powered app from Microsoft will instantly transcribe patient notes during doctor visits - Pigeon has no doubts that Nuance will function better than existing transcription services, otherwise expect a lot of patients presenting with broken eggs.
🧑🏫 4 Lessons Health Tech Companies Should Know to Reach $100M ARR - The 4 lessons are: 1) Subscribe to Healthtech Pigeon, 2) Listen to the Pigeon podcast, 3) Listen to the Healthtech Podcast with Dr James Somauroo, 4) Repeat. No need to read the article, promise.
🍐 Pear Therapeutics files for bankruptcy - As recently as January, things were beginning to look up for DTx pioneer Pear, which has now become one of the first high profile casualties of 2023. As a mark of respect, Pigeon refuses to make the obvious joke here*. For a more in-depth look, check out Maggie O’Donovan’s explainer in HealthXL.
📈 European Tech Weekly - Week 14 - All hail Quantexa, Europe’s newest $1bn company. A quick bit of research shows the ‘decision intelligence solution’ does have applications in health and health insurance. If we bestow on them honorary membership of the healthtech club, is it too much of a stretch to claim them as a healthtech unicorn?
📊 Europe saw slowest fundraising quarter for six and a half years in Q1 - Overall tech funding in Europe isn’t looking great, but in the deals that are being signed, healthtech is nicely represented, even as other sectors’ share keep growing. (BRB, just registering a trademark for ‘Spacetech Pigeon’.)
🤙 Deloitte Q&A: Demand for health tech still 'far exceeds' supply - When Pigeon’s feeling down, nothing can cheer him up quite like an hour spent on the Deloitte corporate website (Seriously). Deloitte’s Peter Micca opens up on their recent report that looks beyond the gloomy headlines to find some pretty big wins for US healthtech.
🀄️ Healthtech firm IMMJ Systems strategically rebrands to Mizaic - Strategic rebrands are Pigeon’s third favourite type of rebrand, slightly below 1.) ‘tactical overnight rebrand’ and just above 3.) ‘Mike, the boss says he doesn’t like the name anymore. Remove the vowels and see what he thinks.’ [This is your last warning. Stop sulking about the HLTHTCH PGN rebrand. - Ed.]
What to listen to 🔊
🐦 Doom, Gloom and unicorns - Join James, Jess, and Huw as they do their best to make sense of this week’s healthtech stories.
🔊 #298 The Road to Better Women's Health: Tech Startups on a Mission with Dr Michelle Griffin - In this throwback episode, James speaks to Dr Michelle Griffin, Women's health expert, as she sheds light on the intention behind women's health tech startups and emphasises the importance of tangible outcomes for companies in this space.
Events 📅
🔐 Decoding the Future of Women - A meeting place for brilliant minds to learn, get inspired and co-create, slap bang in the middle of London Tech Week.
🌍 Digital Health Advances Conference - 70% of the World’s Top Pharma companies in one room? Pigeon thinks this is a great opportunity to engage with both Pharma and HCPs on the big advancements in tech-enabled healthcare.
Opportunities 🕵️♀️
🧑🏫 NHS Business Development Lead, Feebris - Feebris are helping to transform community care using their AI guided tools. Any good BizDev types out there ready to help them scare up some leads?
🧠 HealthTech specialists, KCL Tech - One for the students out there: clued up on healthtech and want to share your passion? Now’s your chance.
💊 Recruitment Coordinator, Pharmacierge - Get on board at e-prescription app Pharmacierge and help them build a team that delivers on their vision.
🤖 Drug Discovery Project Leader, Benevolent AI - we make no bones about it: Benevolent AI are objectively one of the most exciting companies in healthtech, and have been using AI since before it was cool.
Head of Finance, Birdie - FYI, Finance whizzes, Birdie’s inclusion here is wholly down to the quality of the home healthcare tech provider’s incredible team, platform and results, and NOT because we have a mutual affinity for our winged friends in the sky. Now we’ve made that clear, go apply.
*I am going to make it here though. Sadly, looks like it all went a bit pear-shaped.