Learning from funding missteps in the digital health startup ecosystem

ORLANDO – Pawan Kohli, strategic advisor at Redesign Health, spoke at HIMSS24 Venture Connect on experiencing failure and the lessons startups can learn to ensure they thrive in an ever changing digital health market. 

Global digital health funding was cut substantially in 2023 compared with 2022, while deals dropped to the lowest level since 2016. Additionally, there were just three mega-rounds (deals worth $100 million or more) in Q4 of 2023, also the lowest since 2016. 

Examples of companies that ended operations in 2023 include Olive and Pear Therapeutics. 

During his talk “Failure Can Be Painful but Full of Promise: Learning from Our Mistakes,” Kohli said that, moving forward, buying small, rural health systems could be a viable avenue for health tech companies looking to expand in the next few years as these systems have struggled and companies could test products through acquired healthcare organizations. 

He also relayed that the largest pitfalls for digital health funding in 2023/2024 are uncontrolled spending, not learning from rejections, focusing too narrowly on revenue growth and failing to create a high-functioning board of directors. 

Pressure from investors may also have contributed to closure of companies in 2023, but closures always occur for a myriad of reasons.