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
- UnitedHealth Group announced that it reached out to the Department of Justice after reviewing media reports about investigations into certain aspects of its participation in the Medicare program. The company said it has now begun complying with formal criminal and civil requests from the Department and has proactively launched its own initiative to conduct third party reviews of policies, practices, and associated processes and performance metrics for risk assessment coding, managed care practices, and pharmacy services
- Gaming platform Roblox announced the official launch of its new Learning Hub, a dedicated portal offering a diverse array of educational experiences developed by leading learning providers and Roblox creators. This initiative aims to transform how students engage with educational content by integrating interactive lessons into immersive gameplay, leveraging Roblox’s massive global user base. The Learning Hub provides a centralized gateway to educational games spanning various subjects, including computer science, arts, and math
AI News
- Sheba Medical Center partnered with Hippocratic AI, a healthcare technology company that develops safety-focused large-language models for medical applications. The AI agents will initially help with triage and patient intake processes, handling non-diagnostic, patient-facing interactions to support healthcare delivery
- Advocate Health, a nonprofit integrated health system, partnered with Aidoc, developer of AI tools for radiologists and multidisciplinary response teams, to expand the use of its AI platform. Advocate Health will use Aidoc’s aiOS platform to embed FDA-cleared AI algorithms into its clinical imaging workflows
- AEYE Health, a provider of AI-powered retinal diagnostics, partnered with Ford Medical, a healthcare distributor dedicated to supporting non-acute care providers. The collaboration will bring AEYE’s fully autonomous diabetic eye exam screening solutions to pharmacies and non-acute centers nationwide
- Omega Healthcare, a provider of technology-enabled RCM services, expanded its partnership with Microsoft to further enhance its advanced AI capabilities across the revenue cycle. Through the integration of Microsoft Azure AI models through Azure AI Foundry, and the company’s Omega Digital Platform, Omega Healthcare launched more than 20 generative and agentic AI solutions to help healthcare organizations enhance revenue cycle operations and improve financial performance
- RadNet, a provider of diagnostic imaging services and digital health solutions, acquired iCAD, a provider of AI-powered breast health solutions
- HEALWELL, a healthcare artificial intelligence company focused on preventative care, acquired the remaining 49% of Pentavere Research Group, the AI healthcare company behind patient identification platform DARWEN
Late Stage Fundings:
Healthtech:
- Phlow Corp., a pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization, raised a $37 million Series C round led by Align Private Capital LLC
- Aidoc, a clinical AI platform, raised a $150 million financing round led by General Catalyst and Square Peg, with participation from NVentures and four major U.S. health systems, including Hartford HealthCare, Mercy, Sutter Health and WellSpan Health
- Pristyn Care, a surgery-focused hospital chain, raised $4 million as part of a larger funding round from existing investors Peak XV Partners and Hummingbird Ventures
- MedGenome, a genomic diagnostics and research services company, raised $47.5 million in a Series E funding round co-led by Maj Invest along with existing investor Novo Holdings. The round also saw participation from Sofina, an existing shareholder in the company
Early Stage Fundings
Healthtech:
- Fortuna Health, a consumer Medicaid navigation platform, raised $18 million in a Series A funding round was led by returning investors Andreessen Horowitz with participation from Y Combinator and founders and executives from Abridge, DoorDash, Hex, One Medical, Oscar Health, Scale, and Vanta
- Plexision, a biotechnology company that performs cell-based blood tests for personalized management of transplant rejection, infections in immunocompromised patients, and immune therapy in oncology, raised a $365,000 investment from the Richard King Mellon Foundation
- Cooler Heads, a medical device company behind Amma, a system that helps chemotherapy patients keep their hair and preserve their privacy, raised $11 million in a Series A funding round led by Mutual Capital Partners and participation from SHD Partners, Crescent Ridge VC, Cal Innovation Fund, NuFund, Robin Hood Ventures, Golden Seeds, HIP VC, and an unnamed strategic investor
- Respiree, an AI-powered platform focused on automating patient monitoring and care pathway management, raised $11.6 million in a Series A funding round led by We Venture Capital and ClavystBio, with additional participation from Adaptive Capital Partners, Mayo Clinic’s Mayo Foundation for Medical Research, Greenwillow Capital Management, Seeds Capital, and she1K
- Charta Health, an AI-powered platform that automates and optimizes medical billing and clinical documentation workflows, raised a $22 million Series A funding round led by Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from Madrona, SV Angel, Refract Ventures, and South Park Commons
- Hemanext, a provider of blood processing, storage and transfusion technology, raised $18.9 million from undisclosed investors
Edtech:
- EduFund, a full-stack platform for education planning and financing, raised $6 million (~Rs 50 crore) in a Series A funding round led by Cercano Management and MassMutual Ventures
- Ucademy, an educational company specializing in preparing academic tests, raised €3.5 million in a round led by Inveready, with the participation of Sabadell Venture Capital
Seed Fundings
Healthtech:
- Everlab, an AI-powered health platform reimagining preventive care, raised a $10 million seed round led by Left Lane Capital
Edtech:
- Litero AI, a platform that uses advanced AI to help students improve academic writing, raised $800,000 in a round led by Pre-Seed to Succeed with participation from angel investors
Policy and government
- The U.S. Department of Education sent a Dear Colleague Letter to grantees and future grantees on leveraging federal grant funds to improve education outcomes through Artificial Intelligence. This guidance outlines how AI may be used across key educational functions, articulates principles for the responsible use of AI, and affirms that such uses are allowable under existing federal education programs, provided they align with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements
- A coalition of 20 Democratic attorneys general sued the Trump administration to block implementation of a rule they argue will undermine the Affordable Care Act. The complaint was co-led by California, Massachusetts and New Jersey and filed in federal court in Massachusetts. The lawsuit alleges the Department of Health and Human Services illegally made changes to the health law, which will make it harder for people to enroll and will shift costs to states
Random news
- Shay Nielsen, a teacher in North Carolina, asked her colleagues on TikTok: “I’m bored — Teachers, what’s the most unhinged thing a student brought to school? Not a TV remote. I’m talkin’ Grandma’s dentures. Give me something jaw-dropping.” Some of the responses: a baby goat, a life-sized cardboard cut-out of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a tampon applicator, weeks-old Jello shots from Mardi Gras, his mom’s copy of Kama Sutra, a boa constrictor, and fuzzy handcuffs that she said her mom loves
(Image source: vox.com)
