INSIGHTS
April 6, 2020

How are healthcare investors adjusting to COVID-19?

Before running into uncertainty of pandemic proportions, digital health funding was off to a record-breaking start in 2020, with $3.1B invested across 107 deals in the second-most funded quarter on record. Signs of a maturing sector abound, as late-stage funding rounds comprised over 30% of deals and average deal size spiked to $29M. Although digital health startups are uniquely positioned to play a role in the immediate crisis response and drive sustained changes in its aftermath, they aren’t immune to macroeconomic stresses.

In our just-released quarterly update, we crunched the numbers and surveyed a dozen investors (ourselves included) to put together a picture of the current funding outlook in this defining moment for digital health. Read the Q1 market insights post.

Headlines

After Record Q1, Digital Health Braces For COVID-19 Impact
What healthcare investors see now and in the coming months Rock Health | (Tweet)

Telemedicine Will Be A Legacy Of Our Current Crisis
Our friend Eric Topol explains why—and acknowledges its limits The Economist | (Tweet)

Debate Flares Over Using AI To Detect COVID-19 In Lung Scans
+ How Stanford is trying to work AI models into existing workflows STAT | (Tweet)

VC-Backed Startups Will Be Eligible For Small Business Loans
The Paycheck Protection Program is part of the $2.2T relief bill Axios | (Tweet)

As Isolation Rises, Virtual Behavioral Health Is A Lifeline
“Human connection, even from afar, is essential during this time” Fierce Healthcare | (Tweet)

COVID-19 And Health Care’s Digital Revolution
The policy response we need to shed our analog system NEJM | (Tweet)

Here’s How FCC Proposes Spending $200M On Telehealth
The goal: get providers equipped to provide virtual care ASAP CNET | (Tweet)

COVID-19 Testing: Challenges In Epidemic’s Next Phase
Yes, we still need more tests—but that’s not all STAT | (Tweet)

Recent Funding

+ Digital health just had its strongest Q1 of funding ever. Read more.