#30 Digital health cowboys 🌵
Also: healthcare cautionary tales, Zoom dysmorphia, and saucy daydreams.
Think about it 💡
🤠 In the wild west of digital health, where market winds have been blowing tumbleweeds, teletherapy is the lone ranger riding in with increased funding. Pitchbook’s latest market map highlighted noteworthy deals in Q2 2023, including Spring Health's $71 million haul and Author Health's impressive $115 million early-stage VC round. Unfortunately, the IPO bear market and the sheriff of high-interest rates kept the exit doors bolted, leaving us with just a handful of exits worth a modest $0.1 billion in 2023. Think of WW International's $132 million acquisition of Weekend Health (aka Sequence) as the elusive treasure hidden in these digital health badlands.
🎢 Babylon Health's rollercoaster journey from healthcare disruptor to cautionary tale is a lesson for the AI-driven healthcare industry. Starting with a valuation of over $4 billion, Babylon's ambitious goal to AI-ify healthcare hit a few speed bumps. The company's aggressive hiring, overlapping projects, and a lack of advanced AI capabilities led to a chaotic work environment. Regulators and healthcare pros weren't buying into Babylon's AI diagnostic prowess, and its US expansion turned out to be a competitive dead end. Their stock took a nosedive, mirroring the struggles of other AI-healthcare hopefuls. It's a reminder that driving AI in care requires a good dose of real-world wisdom from healthcare professionals.
Mirror, mirror 🪞
👀 Video conferencing has trapped us in a perpetual staring contest with ourselves. A survey of 7,000 people sounded the alarm on a potential outbreak of body dysmorphia, especially among the selfie-savvy youth who are increasingly resorting to fillers. Post-covid peak, 30% said they planned to invest in their appearance as a coping strategy to deal with the anxiety of returning to face-to-face activities, and over 30% planned to take steps to change their appearance. Behold, the age of "Zoom dysmorphia”. Our constant self-peering has elevated self-consciousness to dizzying heights, giving rise to a cult of self-criticism and a peculiar obsession with our own reflections. The ultimate outcome of this identity crisis remains as elusive as the perfect selfie angle, but it is perhaps time to turn that camera off.
Neat News 🗞️
👩⚕️ Costco expands healthcare footprint, teaming up with Sesame to offer members $29 virtual care visits. Neat.
🌱 Partum Health raises $3.1 million in seed funding to expand access to pregnancy and postpartum care services in the U.S. Super neat.
💸 Awell secures $5m in seed funding to revolutionize clinical workflows. Ultra neat.
Clean Content 🧼
💼 a16z delves into the commercialization of AI in healthcare. It’s a fun one.
💃🏼 ChatGPT there, ChatGPT everywhere: here’s what the lil-bot's telehealth tango gets slightly offbeat.
🚀 Sequoia drops the mic with its generative AI in healthcare market map - Nabla may have made a furtive appearance 🙊.
This is what you came for 🍑
💭 In a titillating twist, a study commissioned by luxury sex toy company Lelo and conducted by OnePoll has uncovered a saucy secret – 49% of Americans in committed relationships are daydreaming about someone other than their partner during their intimate escapades. So, sprinkle of spice or romantic escapism? That is the question.
Meet-and-greet 🍻
👋 Coming to HLTH2023? Catch Nabla at booth 6828 to test Copilot live and mingle with our team.
Byeeee,
🍞 A toasty shoutout to the brilliant minds who fuelled this week's Hoagie with inspiration - Grace Browne, Lola Christina Alao, Josh Tamayo-Sarver, and the all-star squads at a16z, Pitchbook, and Sequoia.