INSIGHTS
January 10, 2022

$29.1B across 729 deals: Digital health funding in 2021

Rock Weekly regulars already know that 2021 was a funding bonanza; we shared in our H1 recap that the year had already surpassed all of 2020’s record-breaking funding totals. But by just how much? Almost double, as it turns out: 2021 saw $29.1B raised by U.S. digital health companies across 729 deals and just about broke our y-axis. Also of note, 2021’s 272 M&A deals almost doubled 2020’s 146, and there were a record 23 public exits—nearly triple 2020’s eight. Beneath all the funding, consolidation, exits, and consumer adoption, the digital health sector was reshaped by big forces of change in 2021 (think: data interoperability, business models, and talent wars)—and downstream effects in 2022 are likely. Read on for a review of 2021’s funding landscape and the past year’s seismic shifts.

Headlines

White House Seeks Input On Digital Community Health Programs
Office of Science and Technology Policy looks to use digital health to improve health equity Becker’s Hospital Review

LG TVs Now Have A Built-In Health Platform
New LG smart TVs to integrate senior-focused Independa health platform The Verge

FDA Releases Guidance For Remotely Acquiring Data In Clinical Investigations
Recommendations for use of digital health tools in gathering data from remote trial participants Healthcare IT News

Theranos Founder Is Guilty On Four Of 11 Charges In Fraud Trial
Elizabeth Holmes is convicted of misleading investors The Wall Street Journal

Digital Health Products Debut At CES 2022
Announcements from the Consumer Technology Association’s annual event MobiHealthNews

IBM Tries To Sell Watson Health Again
Aspirations to divest the division for $1B Axios

Babylon Health Acquires Health Kiosk Company Higi Health
UK-based Babylon continues expansion into the US Fierce Healthcare

Castlight Health And Vera Whole Health To Merge In $370M Deal
The next chapter for one of digital health’s first public companies Fierce Healthcare

Recent Funding