You can find the episode about healthtech startups and all other episodes of our podcast on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music, Deezer, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Radio Public, Breaker, Overcast, Castbox, Podcast Addict and Anchor.
According to the Munich startup ecosystem, the Munich Startup Insights 211 healthtech startups. Together, they raised around €429 million in investments last year. In 2021, the total was even higher, at €595 million. However, the transportation and energy sectors performed even better thanks to very large rounds for companies like Flix. And this year, the healthtech sector is once again the leader—at least so far—with €268 million.
The industry is highly diverse. It includes startups developing new therapies and medications, as well as those operating health apps and platforms or developing software for doctors and hospitals. Biotech startups developing new analysis or production methods, and young companies manufacturing new medical devices such as 3D-printed prostheses or robots that assist in the operating room, are also part of the industry.
Digital solutions for clinics and practices
In this episode, we focus on two areas. We start with digital health solutions for physicians and hospitals. These typically involve making existing data digitally available and thus usable, or optimizing existing processes. Azuma Health (from minute 4:00), for example, operates cloud modules and cloud functionalities tailored to the requirements of digital healthcare. The startup maps the complex access rights of hospitals and doctor's offices.
Sqior Medical focuses on all processes before, during, and after surgery. The startup is developing a smartphone-based assistance system that provides clinicians with information, simplifies clinical tasks, and automates administrative processes. This should reduce the time everyone involved spends on queries and searching for information, and allow for more efficient use of scarce resources such as staff, operating rooms, and medical technology. Learn more starting at minute 6:10.
Personalization and individualization of treatment
The second healthtech area we will take a closer look at in this episode deals with the personalization and individualization of treatment. Neurotrim Systems (from minute 8:50), for example, has developed a solution for the prevention, rehabilitation, and treatment of orthopedic injuries. The startup combines diagnostics and therapy in an AI-based software-hardware solution to analyze patients' movement patterns. This allows motor deficits, incorrect postures, and protective postures to be identified and treated individually.
Mellow Finally, the company is dedicated to mental health and aims to simplify access to appropriate coaching for companies and private customers. To this end, the startup has launched an online platform for mental coaching that matches customers with coaches suited to their needs. In this way, the startup aims to contribute to strengthening mental health in the population. According to Figures from the interest group of the guild health insurance funds IKK In Germany, 17.8 million people are affected by a mental illness each year. However, only 18.9 percent of them seek professional help. You can hear more about this topic starting at minute 11:25.
The healthtech VC Yzr
Three of these four startups have not yet completed any financing. Yzr, the VC in this episode, could play a role in changing this. The investor, which was only launched in 2021, is fully focused on healthtech startups. The focus is primarily on companies that increase the efficiency and transparency of healthcare systems, make healthy living easier, or enable continuous change for better healthcare. We explain who's behind it starting at minute 14:30.
