Numerous companies have taken advantage of the concern for health and wellbeing and the increased use of new technologies to create innovative companies in this field. Investors have not been left behind and are betting heavily on the sector. Proof of this is that the number of Series A and B rounds in the health sector has increased by 179% from 2010 to 2013, from 24 deals in 2011 to 67 in 2013.
Rounds in companies dedicated to online medical information.
30% of the transactions carried out in the healthcare sector in 2013 and the first quarter of 2014 were rounds in companies aimed at providing online medical services or information. We could classify these companies into 3 main groups, platforms for finding medical specialists or online insurance, which are adapted to the needs of customers, such as BetterDoctor, American company that received a $$2.6M round in 2013 in which participated Jeff Clavier, 500 Startups, Burrill & Co.
"In Spain, there have also been operations in this area, such as the €500,000 round of financing obtained by the Catalana de la Catalana. Medprivéthe internet marketer of medical devices from the hand of Cabiedes & Partners"says Diego Gutierrez, the group's alternative finance expert. Abra Invest.
The second group is 'Software to facilitate patient follow-up or rehabilitation', such as HealthTap which raised $ 24M in its second round of funding in May 2013.
And the third group, that of "Online communities for medical information", such as Treatowhich takes all the information from blogs and forums and presents the patient with a detailed summary. Treato, which received a €14.5M round of funding from Leaf Venture Partners, Reed Elsevier Ventures and OrbiMed Advisors .
Rounds in health and wellness technology companies
The focus on healthy living has also led to a significant increase in the number of transactions in the health sector. Of the total 94 deals in the health sector, 24% are deals in technology companies offering healthy living services.
Within this group are platforms that help customers to get fit by encouraging sport, or by proposing personalised diets and healthy recipes. Like the company Pact FitnessPact Fitness, an online community, in which members make a pact on how many days a week they will do sport, and if one of them does not fulfil it, they have to pay an amount to the other members who have done sport. Last year, Pact Fitness received a $1.5M round in which the following participated Khosla Ventures and Max Levchin.
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