Due diligence before “I do”
Digital health M&A’s rebound—relative to its 2024 slump—has continued into 2026. With 45 deals in Q3 alone, the year-to-date total of 171 is approaching 2025’s full-year tally of 195 deals (meanwhile, digital health’s IPO landscape remains quiet). Among this year’s acquired companies with a known last priced round, roughly half were last funded at Seed or Series A and half at later stages.
For some buyers, existing partnerships are paving the way for acquisitions. Zocdoc and H1 each brought a partner in-house, with Zocdoc buying insurance verification platform Sohar Health (its first-ever acquisition) and H1 folding in provider network intelligence platform Defacto Health. Both buyers cited first-hand experience with their respective partner’s technology or data, along with team expertise. Payment intelligence company Lyric also recently acquired Concert after collaborating since 2023 to jointly help health plans apply clinical coverage policies to laboratory claims. A track record of results helps make the case, too. Zocdoc, for example, noted that one million patients had verified insurance coverage through Sohar's technology since the partnership began in 2025. Lyric and Concert reported nearly tenfold growth in scope and impact over the lifetime of the partnership.
Working together first can help buyers determine if companies' capabilities, team, and technology are compatible and if the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Outcomes the two companies achieve together then serve as evidence that the fit holds up in practice, which takes much of the guesswork out of a decision to buy. The proof is in the real-world pudding.
Headlines
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Epic Launches Connectors To Link Its AI Tools With Third-Party Apps
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