#221 - Terminator 70: Rise off the Sofa
The one-minute healthtech roundup, kindly sponsored by Whereby - secure video calls for telehealth.
Hi friends,
This week: Oura valued at $5Bn, the State of European Tech, and whatās holding back innovation in the NHS?
Love healthtech, hate reading? š Listen to the Healthtech Pigeon podcast ā”ļø Huw and Amy from SomX break down the best stories from this weekās newsletter, with help from Docclaās Sukrti Nagpal. Available now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Integrating video calling into your digital health solution can be a major pain, particularly when it comes to finding secure, developer-friendly platforms that treat usersā data as carefully as you do. Whereby specialises in integrated video calls for Telehealth. For over a decade, weāve collaborated with healthcare professionals to enable seamless virtual consultations. Weāre focused on optimising patient and practitioner experience while removing unnecessary heavy lifting from your engineering team with our flexible video call API.
News Bites š„Ŗ
š Smart ring maker Oura hits a $5bn valuation after raising $75m ā In the last week, Oura dropped valuable research on perimenopause, said Apple wonāt make their own smart ring because doing it āis hardā, and has now announced a massive raise and partnership with Dexcom, the continuous glucose monitoring company. Weāre not shedding our healthy scepticism of wearables just yet, but Oura are starting to win us over.
š¤ Zimmer Biomet gives Schwarzenegger C-suite title for push to terminate immobility ā Ignore that āChief Movement Officerā is the sort of title youād give your lead investorās nepobaby adult child when they asked if you could give them something to do; focus on the fact that if Arnie tells you to do something, youāre going to do it. The marketing slogans write themselves (but Pigeon suggests āCome with me (for a walk) if you want to liveā, āIāll be back (pain free)ā, and āGet to the chopper!(or walk, its healthier)ā.
š Meta pushes AI bid for UK public sector forward with technology aimed at NHS ā Future scholars will look back on this time with curiosity, asking why big tech companies believe that the NHS and healthcare generally is so potentially lucrative, when so many smaller companies struggle to turn good ideas into workable innovation. Hopefully they work it out, because no one in this era seems to be able to crack that nut.
š Industry view: what is holding the NHS back from innovation, and what is needed to break these barriers? ā A wide range of expert views on offer here which go a little bit deeper than the normal answer to this much considered question (not much money, even less inclination). Do we need a healthtech version of the hippocratic oath? Something that says āFirst, do no harmā and then āsecond, at least do somethingā¦anything?ā.
š¢ Homethrive raises $20M for tech-enabled caregiver platform ā Pigeon sees a lot of great tech designed to help treat those suffering with dementia, various disabilities, and chronic conditions; and those tools are vital contributions to healthcare. Weāre intrigued by Homethrive, which aims to help caregivers supporting family or friends with these conditions to find the right care. Itās a novel approach solving a real need, and clearly investors think so too..
āļø Atomicoās State of European Tech drops ā Retail is out, enabling technologies (whatever they are) are in, and fintech is as dominant as ever; but where does healthtech sit in the world of European Tech? By most measures, the answer is āadequate, but not outstandingā. Has investment improved since 2015? Yes. Are more companies making their way to a fourth or fifth round? No, but nor are companies in other industries, so Pigeon sees no point in dwelling on the topic.
š¤ Boston Scientific closes acquisition of Axonics, Inc - Med-Tech Innovation āĀ Undeniably big news from a space you might not be familiar with. Axonics, a leader in devices to treat urinary dysfunction, has been picked up by a very Big Medtech co at a $3.7Bn valuation.Ā
š¶ Vitara Raises $50M to Advance Womb-Like Technology for Premature Babies ā True 21st century tech from Vitara, which has received backing from Google and Khosla Ventures to advance their tech that could help support up to 15m babies every year born pre-term.
š¬ Alan unveils AI health assistant for its 680K health insurance members ā Just weeks after picking up a very big raise, Alanās backā¦and heās bringing Mo with him. In this case, Mo is an AI assistant that, in an announcement that is pretty light on details, has got Pigeon asking some important questions (and some less important ones too). Luckily we had Docclaās Suktri Nagpal to help us answer them on this weekās podcast.
š„ Sam Altman and Arianna Huffington's Thrive AI Health assistant has a bare-bones demo ā Finally this week: you might remember that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and HuffPost founder and former CEO Arianna Huffington started an AI-powered healthtech app (honestly, Pigeon had assumed that news was just a fever dream, but no, it actually happened). Well, a demo-video of the app leaked this week, and Tech Crunchās description of it as ābare-bonesā is one of the nicer things anyoneās said about it. Sadly, you canāt watch it, but you can see some screenshots, so thereās thatā¦
š¹ 5 Telehealth Predictions for 2025 ā How will we provide and interact with healthcare services next year? Whatās going to change, and whatās going to stay the same? Whereby, video call specialist for telehealth, works closely with healthcare professionals and provider organisations so can follow the trajectory better than most. Hereās their predictions on what the next 12 months will bringā¦and how providers can prepare.
What to listen to š
Events š
Digital Health Conference
š£ Nov 28
š Berlin
Medfit 2024
š£ Dec 3-4
š Lille, France
Healthtech Forward
š£ Dec 4-5
š Barcelona, Spain
Healthtech Investor Summit
š£ Dec 4-6
š Bruges, Belgium
GIANT Health
š£ Dec 9-10
š London
Next Med Health
š£ Dec 10-13
š San Diego, USA
Visit the SomX events page or subscribe to SomXās events roundup to see all of the best upcoming healthtech, biotech and healthcare events.
Opportunities šµļøāāļø
š§āš« Course; Mind the Gap, Black and Brown Skin ā Entrepreneur, author and one-time Pigeon pod guest has developed a comprehensive course to improve confidence and understanding of health equity issues faced by black and brown people. Working in healthcare? Nowās the time.
šļø ABHI US Accelerator ā The Association of British Healthtech Industries is recruiting companies to join the latest cohort of its US accelerator, helping UK companies looking to break out across the Atlantic.
š Digital Strategy, Astellas Pharma ā The latest exciting digital role at the big pharma co ā if youāre a strategist with a good understanding of the health sciences value chain, nowās the time to apply.
š Public Partnerships Lead, UK, Eucalyptus ā The tree-themed Aussie healthtech is expanding in the UK, and particularly in the NHS; theyāre looking for someone to drive those partnerships and synergies and build a profile with people at the top of UK healthcare.
š§āš» Digital Programme Manager, NHS England ā Digital transformation expert? Fancy being part of a team at the centre shaping the future of elective care? This oneās for you.
š¤ Senior Manager, Healthcare, CF ā Management consultants and strategy consultants, this oneās for you. CF are one of healthcareās most prolific specialist consultancies, and theyāre looking for a senior manager-level consultant to join them. A great role if youāre looking to work with the experts.
š Customer Care Agent, Numan ā In a crowded field, Numan are hard to miss. Theyāre looking for a customer care expert who can help keep up their reputation for quality with the people who rely on them most.
š Software Engineer, Radiant Science ā Ready to unleash healthcare professionalsā potential? Berlin-based AI decision support tool is looking for a software engineer to help develop their services.
š Sixty Twelve Mentoring Programme - Whether youāre a seasoned entrepreneur or a motivated healthtech pro interested in supporting aspiring innovators, Sixty Twelve is looking for mentors who want to share their expertise with the next generation of digital health leaders.
Got news, jobs or events you think is worth coo-ing over? Let us know! Email us: news@healthtechpigeon.com
Healthtech Pigeon is curated and produced by SomX, the communications and creative agency for healthcare. We are clinicians, scientists, creatives and communicators dedicated to serving our healthtech, biotech, pharma and public sector clients with services across strategy, content, PR, design, events and media production. Get in touch to learn more.