Healthtech in 2023

1. Paging Dr Artificial Intelligence

   2023 has been the year of the AI-related healthtech raise. Copenhagen-based Corti bagged one of Denmark’s largest rounds this year: a $60m Series B to build out a GenAI “co-pilot” that follows a patient interaction, and nudges doctors and nurses with suggestions for follow-up questions as well as advice.

   French femtech Sonio raised $14m for an AI-powered prenatal screening solution that automates ultrasound reporting, while the UK’s thymia raised £2.7m for its gamified AI approach to diagnosing mental health symptoms and treatment plans.

   Biotechs that have announced drugs discovered or developed using AI tools include London-based Exscientia. But some believe the best use of AI in healthcare may turn out to be something more modest for the time being — clinical note-taking and reducing the paper stacks are two promising applications.

   Among the big admin-busting deals this year: Brussels-based Awell raised $5m for its digital health platform that automates clinical workflows, while Marseille-based Volta Medical bagged €36m for its AI support tool, which helps physicians identify and annotate heart abnormalities.

2. Also paging Dr Robot

   Robots are scrubbing in for shifts in the operating theatre. The UK’s CMR Surgical netted $165m from big names including SoftBank and Tencent, for a system that promises to shave tens of minutes off procedures, allowing hospitals to pack more surgeries into a day.

   Meanwhile, Swiss company Distalmotion bagged $150m this year from US private equity firm Revival Healthcare Capital, as it looks to get FDA approval for its robot “Dexter“ and expand into the US.

   And there have been other smaller raises in the sector. France’s Moon Surgical picked up $55.4m in May, compatriot Ganymed Robotics €15m in January and Switzerland’s Nanoflex Robotics $12m in February.

3. B2C is leaving here with something

   European healthtech is overwhelmingly B2B terrain — but direct to consumer wellness and longevity ideas have found investors in 2023.

   For example, London-based Jude raised $4.2m to further develop its range of services aimed at promoting better bladder health. In September, Stockholm-based Natural Cycles became the world's first birth control app cleared by US regulator FDA to use Apple Watch data.

   Béa Fertility raised £2.5m to launch its at-home fertility treatment in the UK, while Berlin-based eaze netted €1.7m pre-seed for its sleep coaching app.

   Longevity treatment clinics are coming: Swiss startup Biolytica, which began life as a tool for clinicians to get a better understanding of patients' health, announced a €5.3m seed round earlier this year — and that it’s expanding its business to serve the wider public.

4. Skinny love

   Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic have taken the US by storm and now startups are racing to win the European market.

   August saw two new startups raise money to offer treatment plans using semaglutide — the weight-loss drug sold under brand names like Wegovy and Ozempic — with Danish company Embla landing €10m and Swedish company Yazen netting €3.1m.

   Other startups focused on men’s health specifically — including a pair of London-based startups, Manual (backed by Felix Capital and Cherry Ventures) and Numan (backed by Anthemis Group and White Star Capital) — have also offered weight-loss treatments that include semaglutide injections.

Who early stage startups are up against