Digital health investors agree that the market is settling into a steady investment pace, as well as returning to reasonable valuations. Only time will tell if this can bolster the tepid rate of exit activity in the sector.
This year, industry experts think that some digital health startups will have to confront their challenges more head-on than they did in 2023. Some companies may need to do things like fundraise at a lower valuation, explore opportunities for an acquisition or exit or, in some cases, consider the possibility of shutting down operations.
Health care professionals can refer patients to the best options for diagnostic imaging covered by Medicare to give more people the medical assistance they need without extra financial stress.
This year's digital health fundraising environment requires startups to focus more on their unit economics and pathway to profitability, according to Ian Wijaya, managing director at Lazard. He predicted that the ability to achieve profitability will be much more important in 2024 than it has been in the past four years or so.
Digital health’s Q3 saw the lowest quarterly funding total in the past 11 quarters, but experts don't think this trend should be a cause for concern. They said it's important to remember that the mega-boom of 2020 and 2021 was an anomaly for the sector.