US healthtech startups get the most funding but the rest of the world is catching up

New data from CB Insights reveals that the number of global VC deals grew to reach $6.1bn in 2016

US healthtech startups get the most funding but the rest of the world is catching up

From 3D-printed limbs to iPad apps helping surgeons prep for surgery, technology is rapidly changing the way people are kept healthy. And investors are certainly paying attention. Not only has the number of VC deals increased over the past decade but the deals are also getting bigger and spreading across the world, according to new data from CB Insights, the venture-capital database.

Having looked at all healthtech deals over the past seven years, the company revealed that funding to new enterprises in the sector has increased almost every year. In 2016, there were 918 global deals, corresponding to $6.1bn in investment. This was up from 147 deals in 2009.

CB Insights also checked out where the deals were taking place. Looking at all global deals between the first quarter of 2013 to the same period in 2017, 75% of investment went to firms in America. India came second with 4%. The UK, China and Canada are in third place with all countries receiving 3% of funds.

But even if US healthtech startups are still receiving most of the funding, the rest of the world is catching up. In the first quarter of 2013, American healthech startups received $451m and the rest of the world received $33m. Fast-forward to the first quarter of 2017 and those numbers have changed to $1,751m and $621m. In other words, international deals have jumped from being 7.3% to 35.5% of the number of total deals.

However, the growing interest from VCs isn’t the only reason for UK entrepreneurs to consider the possibilities of venturing into healthtech sector. For starters, UK companies in the sector like LumiraDx, Babylon Health and Antidote raised $43.24m, $25m and $17.8m respectively in 2016. And CB Insigths aren’t the only ones who have noticed how investors are warming to the sector: back in January a report from Sonovate, a finance provider for the contract recruitment industry, revealed that while fintech startups received 24% the 50 biggest UK VC investment deals in 2016, healthtech was a close second with 20%. Additionally, both Telefonica, the broadband and telecommunications provider, and the NHS have launched healthtech accelerators in recent years.

So with VCs increasingly eyeing up healthtech investment opportunities across the globe, this could be the perfect time to launch a venture in the sector and claim a piece of the funding pie.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Eric Johansson
Eric Johansson
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