Good morning, ! It’s Thursday and today we’re diving into the sustained growth of the Heath Tech startups market, mega deals are officially in remission, and hospitals are running the tab in US healthcare spending.

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DATA DIVE

Health Tech startups: from the post-pandemic spike to AI disruption

Over the past decade, U.S. health tech has moved from niche to necessary, evolving from early digital adoption to a $4.8 trillion ecosystem under transformation. This report traces the sector’s rapid acceleration during the COVID-19 era, the deal frenzy peak of 2021, and its ongoing reset into a more disciplined, AI-fueled growth phase.

Deal flow surged from under 100 in 2011 to 740 in 2021, then cooled to ~500 as investors recalibrated. Funding remains resilient, with capital flowing steadily across Series A–D+, signaling maturity not retreat. AI is now the standout, claiming a growing share of digital health dollars as its real-world use cases solidify. Unicorn creation has slowed, but the top-funded players like Devoted Health and Radiology Partners are shaping the future of care delivery, infrastructure, and consumer engagement. (Read or Listen To Full Report.)

TREND OF THE WEEK

What’s Eating Healthcare Budgets? Start with Hospitals and Scripts

The AMA just dropped a reality check on U.S. healthcare spending, and hospitals are running away with the tab. At $1.52 trillion, hospital care alone accounts for the largest chunk of the country’s $4+ trillion health bill. Not far behind are prescription drugs ($450B) and physician services ($722B), underscoring the dual pressure of acute care and pharma costs on system-wide economics.

The data also shows rising investment in other personal health care ($801B) and insurance overhead ($303B), two categories drawing increased scrutiny from payers and policymakers alike. Meanwhile, government administration trails at just $57B, raising eyebrows about the true targets of “administrative bloat” narratives.

Bottom line: Follow the money, and it’s clear where the next phase of cost-containment, tech disruption, and value-based care innovation needs to hit hardest. It’s not just how much we spend, it’s where, and why. (AMA’s full article to unpack the spending trends driving the next wave of healthcare investment.)

PRESENTED BY BUILD WEALTH

WSJ Bestselling Author Walker Deibel’s BuildEnergy Fund Leverages 4-Decade Track Record (Over 80% Subscribed!)

​B​uildEnergy Fund I is officially open to accredited investors​! This $100 million cashflowing fund offers family office terms and 30%+ IRR to its investors. 

Why ​i​nvest? ​Walker Deibel, the serial entrepreneur, WSJ bestselling author, and founder of Build Wealth sees this fund as hitting all facets of his Growth Predictor Framework:

• Experienced Operating Team – A 4-decade / 6-fund track record of strong returns, including IRRs averaging 50%

• Attractive Returns – Prior fund is already cash flowing 15% cash-on-cash, and estimated 35% IRR only 18 months in.

• Institutional-Level Terms – Direct access to a $5M family office buy-in structure, reflecting a 7% immediate paper gain on a minimum $50,000 investment.

• Focused Sector Approach – A strategic, supply / demand imbalance play, acquiring $100 million roll-up of oil wells during a buyer’s market.

​If you’re an accredited investor, you can get access to the data room here:

Discover the deal 

For questions, reach out to Mike Brown, Head of Investor Relations: [email protected]

MARKET MOVERS

HEALTHTECH CORNER

The Reckoning of the $500M Round

In 2024, HealthTech’s mega-deal obsession is officially in remission. With only 22 deals and zero over $500M, the “mega” label is starting to feel… aspirational. VCs have recalibrated after 2021’s overindulgence, where more mega-deal recipients flamed out than filed S-1s. Deal volume has stabilized, but the dollars aren’t rushing back. Instead, there’s a shift toward leaner, smarter capital deployment, especially in AI-driven ops platforms. Companies like Abridge—focused on cutting admin waste—are leading the charge. Less razzle-dazzle, more ROI. (More)

TOGETHER WITH SYNTHFLOW

How Smartcat Scaled Outreach and Cut Costs

Smartcat’s sales team needed a better way to qualify leads and book demos. By partnering with Synthflow, they deployed Voice AI Agents that increased call engagement, revived cold leads, and reduced booking costs by 70%. The result? More deals closed, and reps focused on what matters most—selling.

Explore the full case

DEAL OF THE WEEK

RadNet Goes Deeper Into Breast AI with $103M iCAD Acquisition

In a bid to fortify its leadership in AI-powered cancer screening, RadNet is acquiring iCAD, maker of the ProFound Breast Health Suite, for $103 million. The deal, unanimously approved by both boards, is set to close in Q3 2025 and will fold iCAD into RadNet’s DeepHealth division, bringing along an installed base of 1,500+ provider sites and access to 8 million mammograms across 50 countries.

This isn’t RadNet’s first AI dance. The imaging heavyweight has snapped up DeepHealth, Aidence, Quantib, and Kheiron since 2020. With iCAD onboard, it adds a deep bench of commercial and engineering talent, plus a product that’s scanned 40M mammograms globally in the last five years.

The logic here is clear: scale + data + early detection = market advantage. And with AI use cases expanding into breast density scoring, arterial calcification, and risk stratification, RadNet is stacking its chips for an AI-first radiology future.

Bottom line: Breast AI is heating up, and RadNet just took a bold step to control the category. (Read The Full Article In Radiology Business)

REGIONAL FOCUS

Less Money, More Momentum in APAC Medtech

The Asia-Pacific medtech scene is having a moment. Not a cash-rich one—venture funding dropped 19% to $2B in 2024—but a strategic one. With China’s pullback, capital is flowing into sharper bets: AI-driven diagnostics, predictive maintenance, and other tech making the stethoscope look like a flip phone. Oncology leads with $434M, and India soaked up $795.5M—more than double the next-best country.

Instead of chasing big checks, APAC is doubling down on partnerships and "bilingual" talent (AI + healthcare). The region now claims 27% of global healthcare partnerships, up from 15% two years ago. Singapore’s TRUST platform and Australia’s R&D game show this isn't hype—it’s blueprint. (Read Or Listn To Full Article on Healthcare150.com)

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