Deals to digital health, an area that encompasses everything from digital therapeutics to health wearables and ingestible connected devices, jumped 20% in 2015.
Investor interest in IoT startups working in healthcare has grown hand-in-hand with the broader boom in digital health.
Increasingly, Internet of Things startups are finding new applications within healthcare and leveraging connected sensors to better diagnose, monitor, and manage patients and treatment. Many are focused on clinical-grade wearables to more robustly track patient data, while others see opportunity for sensor networks within hospitals and practices to optimize healthcare delivery and monitor patient adherence.
We used CB Insights data to identify and map private IoT companies operating in the healthcare sector, in addition to startups powering health and wellness related applications such as sleep, baby monitoring, and fitness tracking.
Note: Click image to enlarge.
We broke down the healthcare IoT into the following categories:
Clinical efficiency
This category included startups that are using connected objects to improve the delivery of healthcare in hospitals and clinics, and also track treatments to boost the effectiveness of healthcare providers. Augmedix and Obaa, for example, enable smartglass wearables like Google Glass to be used for healthcare charting. And Simplifeye harnesses the Apple Watch for doctors to track patient visits and access EMRs. Others like Awarepoint use IoT sensors for location-tracking on patients and medical equipment in real-time, in what they call location-as-a-service. AdhereTech, another startup here, is a connected pill bottle that tracks medicine adherence.
Clinical-grade biometric sensors/wearables
Companies here were focused on connected biometric sensors for use in a clinical or hospital setting, and some companies in patient care (such as EarlySense and Monica Healthcare) have FDA approval. Quanttus, MC10, and others are developing clinical-grade wearables that are on the road to FDA approval. Other clinical IoT equipment included Eyenetra, a smart phone-enabled “auto-refractor” for vision testing.
Consumer/home monitoring
This group of companies develop technology marketed to consumers for the collection of biometric information. Startups in this space range from addiction cessation tracker Chrono Therapeutics to the smart thermometer made by Kinsa. Also included were monitoring systems like Qardio and AliveCor, which allow for ECG (electrocardiogram) testing to be done from home.
Brain sensors/neurotechnology
This was mostly comprised of startups trying to hack the brain with high-tech consumer-targeted cranial wearables. Ybrain and InteraXon (with its brain-sending headband, marketed as Muse) read brainwaves, and Thync transmits mood-elevating neurosignals.
Others, such as Neurovigil, are more clinical-grade projects focused on noninvasive neurotech (brain wave reading/recording) in order to analyze drug efficacy and track neuropathology. Neurovigil raised a Q2’15 Series A from Draper Fisher Jurvetson and entrepreneur Elon Musk, among other investors.
Fitness wearables
These were fitness tracking consumer wearables or smart apparel such as Lumo and OMsignal.
Sleep monitoring
Companies here were focused specifically on sleep tracking. Two examples in the space included Hello and Beddit.
Infant monitoring
Wearable technology that tracks infant movements and vitals. Companies here included Owlet and Sproutling, among others.
See the full list below:
| Company | Select Investors | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Augmedix | DCM Ventures, Emergence Capital Partners, Rock Health | Clinical Efficiency |
| Teletracking | No outside funding | Clinical Efficiency |
| Fruit Street | Various Angel Investors | Clinical Efficiency |
| AdhereTech | Blueprint Health | Clinical Efficiency |
| Obaa | Health Wildcatters | Clinical Efficiency |
| Simplifeye | AngelPad | Clinical Efficiency |
| Pristine | Capital Factory, Healthfundr and S3 Ventures | Clinical Efficiency |
| Voluntis | BPI France, Qualcomm Ventures, Innovation Capital | Clinical Efficiency |
| Awarepoint | Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Venrock, Cardinal Partners, New Leaf Venture Partners | Clinical Efficiency |
| Evermind | Tristar Technology Ventures, Jumpstart Foundry, Solidus Company | Clinical Efficiency |
| Quanttus | Khosla Ventures, Matrix Partners | Clinical-Grade Biometric Sensors |
| VitalConnect | Undisclosed investors | Clinical-Grade Biometric Sensors |
| MC10 | Osage Partners, North Bridge Venture Partners, Braemar Energy Ventures | Clinical-Grade Biometric Sensors |
| Senseonics | Delphi Ventures, HealthCare Ventures | Clinical-Grade Biometric Sensors |
| BL Healthcare | Verizon Ventures | Clinical-Grade Biometric Sensors |
| Sotera Wireless | Intel Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, Sanderling Ventures | Clinical-Grade Biometric Sensors |
| ConnectedHealth | Get2Volume, Sovran | Clinical-Grade Biometric Sensors |
| iRhythm Technologies | Synergy Life Science Partners, Mohr Davidow Ventures, St. Jude Medical | Clinical-Grade Biometric Sensors |
| Proteus Digital Health | Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Essex Woodlands, Oracle | Clinical-Grade Biometric Sensors |
| Silent Alert Monitor | Undisclosed Angel Investors | Clinical-Grade Biometric Sensors |
| Eyenetra | Khosla Ventures | Clinical-Grade Biometric Sensors |
| EarlySense | ProSeed Venture Capital, Pitango Venture Capital | Clinical-Grade Biometric Sensors |
| Monica Healthcare | Catapult Venture Managers, New Hill | Clinical-Grade Biometric Sensors |
| Sano Intelligence | Rock Health, Intel Capital, Felicis Ventures, True Ventures | Consumer / Home Monitoring |
| GlucoVista | ff Venture Capital | Consumer / Home Monitoring |
| Qardio | Undisclosed Investors | Consumer / Home Monitoring |
| Whoop | NextView Ventures, Atlas Venture | Consumer / Home Monitoring |
| Aira.IO | ARCH Venture Partners, Lux Capital, Scott Belsky | Consumer / Home Monitoring |
| Chrono Therapeutics | National Cancer Institute, GE Ventures, Mayo Clinic | Consumer / Home Monitoring |
| BioSerenity | IDInvest Partners and Kurma Life Science Partners | Consumer / Home Monitoring |
| Sunsprite | Maine Angels | Consumer / Home Monitoring |
| Kinsa | FirstMark Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers | Consumer / Home Monitoring |
| TuringSense | SV Tech Ventures, Angel Plus | Consumer / Home Monitoring |
| Infobionic | Launchpad Venture Group, Mass Medical Angels | Consumer / Home Monitoring |
| Scanadu | Relay Ventures, AME Cloud Ventures | Consumer / Home Monitoring |
| Cue | Immortalana, Sherpa Capital | Consumer / Home Monitoring |
| AliveCor | Qualcomm Ventures | Consumer / Home Monitoring |
| Thalmic Labs | Spark Capital, Intel Capital, First Round Capital, Y Combinator | Consumer / Home Monitoring |
| Angel Sensor | 500 Accelerator | Consumer / Home Monitoring |
| 3rings | Westfield Health | Consumer / Home Monitoring |
| Neurovigil | Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Elon Musk, Tim Draper | Brain Sensors / Neurotechnology |
| Jan Medical | Brainlab | Brain Sensors / Neurotechnology |
| Thync | Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures | Brain Sensors / Neurotechnology |
| Muse | ff Venture Capital, A-Grade, Felicis Ventures | Brain Sensors / Neurotechnology |
| Neurosky | Taicom Capital, Taiwan Global BioFund | Brain Sensors / Neurotechnology |
| Ybrain | Stonebridge Capital | Brain Sensors / Neurotechnology |
| Halo Neuroscience | Lux Capital, Andreessen Horowitz | Brain Sensors / Neurotechnology |
| Sensoria | Startcaps Ventures, Reply SpA | Fitness Wearables |
| Lumo | Innovation Endeavors, Madrona Venture Group | Fitness Wearables |
| OMsignal | Bessemer Venture Partners | Fitness Wearables |
| Motiv | Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers | Fitness Wearables |
| Athos Works | Social Capital, True Ventures | Fitness Wearables |
| Atlas | In-Q-Tel, JRG Capital | Fitness Wearables |
| Moov | Banyan Capital | Fitness Wearables |
| WiThings | Ventech, 360 Capital Partners | Fitness Wearables |
| Misfit | Bessemer Venture Partners, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, GGV Capital | Fitness Wearables |
| Jawbone | Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers | Fitness Wearables |
| Beddit | Inventure | Sleep Monitoring |
| Novasom | Atherton Venture Partners, Johnson & Johnson Innovation | Sleep Monitoring |
| Hello | Horizons Ventures, Hugo Barra | Sleep Monitoring |
| Sproutling | First Round Capital, Shawn Fanning | Infant Monitoring |
| BabyBe | HAX | Infant Monitoring |
| Mimo | Xfund, Andy Parlmer | Infant Monitoring |
| Owlet | ff Venture Capital, Peak Capital, TechStars | Infant Monitoring |
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