RFK cancels $500M in vaccine contracts, W Health unveils fund for Indian healthtech startups, and Apreo Health raises $130M

Healthtech and edtech are two of the fastest growing sectors, with the healthtech market size to reach $3.1 billion by 2033, while the global education technology market size is projected to reach $348.41 billion by 2030.

Each week will do a roundup of the top news, fundings, and IPOs from these two sectors.

Top News  

• OpenAI for Government⁠ announced a new partnership with the U.S. General Services Administration to provide ChatGPT Enterprise to the entire federal executive branch workforce at essentially no cost. Participating U.S. federal agencies will be able to use our leading frontier models through ChatGPT Enterprise, for the nominal cost of $1 per agency for the next year
• A California jury ruled against Meta in a privacy-related lawsuit involving the alleged collection of sensitive data from Flo, a period-tracking app. The jury ruled that the plaintiffs proved that Meta violated the California Invasion of Privacy Act, according to a verdict form filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern District of California. The ruling stems from a class-action lawsuit dating back to 2021 against the health-tech company Flo Health and other businesses like Meta, Google-parent Alphabet and smaller data analytics firms

AI News

• The University of Florida College of Dentistry integrated artificial intelligence across its programs as part of a wider institutional push to develop AI fluency among students.
• NASA and Google are building an AI medical assistant to keep Mars-bound astronauts healthy. The tool, called Crew Medical Officer Digital Assistant, is designed to help astronauts diagnose and treat symptoms when no doctor is available or communications to Earth are blacked out

Late Stage Fundings:

• Positive Development, a provider of developmental therapy for autistic children and their families, raised $51.5M in Series C funding. New Investor aMoon co-led the round with existing investors B Capital and Flare Capital Partners, and continued participation from Digitalis Ventures, Healthworx, the innovation and investment arm of CareFirst Inc. and others

Early Stage Fundings  

Healthtech:

• Apreo Health, a clinical-stage medical device company developing a novel treatment for severe emphysema, raised a $130 million Series B round co-led by new investors Bain Capital Life Sciences and Norwest, with participation from new investors F-Prime and Intuitive Ventures. Returning investors Lightstone Ventures and Santé Ventures also participated in the round
• Chai Discovery, an AI company that predicts and reprograms the interactions between biochemical molecules to accelerate life-changing therapeutics, raised a $70 million Series A round led by Menlo Ventures, including investment from their Anthology Fund, with participation from new investors Yosemite, DST Global Partners, SV Angel, Avenir, DCVC, and others. It also included existing investors Thrive Capital, OpenAI, Dimension, Neo, Lachy Groom, and Fred Ehrsam, among others
• SNIPR Biome ApS, a company pioneering the development of microbial CRISPR-medicine, raised EUR 35 million Series B round with funding from new investors the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the German Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation as well as existing investors Lundbeckfonden BioCapital, North-East Family Office and Wellington Partners
• August Health, which builds software for enables senior living caregivers, raised $29 million in Series B funding, led by Base10 Partners. Existing investors General Catalyst and Matrix Partners are participating in the round, along with new strategic partners Equitage Ventures, the Senior Living Transformation Company, and Stanford University
• Maxwell Biosciences, a company pioneering a new category of immune-inspired small molecules called Claromers, raised $20 million from undisclosed investors
• MAGENTIQ EYE, a provider of AI-based gastroenterology decision-support software, raised a Series A funding round led by aMoon, with participation from Norgine Ventures BV, Nina Capital, Namarel Ventures SL, Nova Capital, and private investors Sake Bosch and Roon Doornink

Seed Fundings  

Healthtech:

• Elion, an AI-powered research and intelligence platform for healthcare technology, raised a $9.3 million seed round led by existing Elion investor, NEA, with participation from new investors Cedars Sinai Health Ventures, TMV, Scrub Capital, and Alumni Ventures
• Trust AI, the ‘ChatGPT’ for dentists, raised $6 million in a seed round led by dental industry leaders, including Wehrle Implant Immersion Center, Goetze Dental, Rockwood Programs, and a group of prominent dentists representing over $100 million in practice revenues
• Axonic Health, developer of AI specialty medical bots and a Health ATM network, raised $2 million from Arete Global 
• Wanda Health, a  remote patient monitoring company, raised €2.1 million from EMV Capita

Edtech:

• Faba, developer of a screen-free audio entertainment system for children, raised €4.5 million in a round led by CDP Venture Capital, with participation from Oltre Impact and Ad4Ventures
• Wild Zebra, which uses AI to guide students through Socratic-style interactions, raised $2 million in funding 
• Arivihan, which provides students in rural areas with an AI-powered learning platform featuring interactive video lectures, and AI-generated study plans, raised $4.2 million in a round co-led by Prosus and Accel with participation from GSF Investors

Going public

• Heartflow, the developer of AI-enabled fractional flow reserve computed tomography and Plaque Analysis, priced its previously announced initial public offering, with proceeds expected to total more than $300 million

Fund News

• Early stage venture W Health unveiled a $70 million fund for healthtech startups in India

Policy and government

• The Department of Health and Human Services will cancel contracts and pull funding for some vaccines that are being developed to fight respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and the flu. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary and a longtime vaccine critic, announced in a statement that $500 million worth of vaccine development projects, all using mRNA technology, will be halted. The projects — 22 of them — are being led by some of the nation’s leading pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and Moderna to prevent flu, COVID-19 and H5N1 infections
• President Trump signed a presidential memorandum requiring colleges and universities to submit expanded admissions data to the U.S. Department of Education. Thursday’s memo claims “the lack of available admissions data from universities – paired with the rampant use of “diversity statements” and other overt and hidden racial proxies – continues to raise concerns about whether race is actually used in admissions decisions in practice.”  Any college or university that participates in the federal student loan program is already required to submit certain data to the department about enrollment, graduation rates and financial aid. This would compel them to report more detail about not just the students they enroll but also about those who apply

Random news

• A Florida woman is being accused of posing as a licensed nurse and giving medical care to thousands of patients, authorities said. Autumn Marie Bardisa, 29, of Palm Coast, participated in medical services involving 4,486 people from June 2024 until January 2025, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said. Bardisa was apprehended in the driveway of her home Tuesday and is jailed on multiple charges that include practicing health care without a license, sheriff’s officials said. She’s being held on $70,000 bond and is due in court for a Sept. 2 arraignment

(Image source: proventainternational.com)