Venture Capital (VC) funding for Digital Health companies touched $8.9 billion in 2019, according to Mercom’s Q4 and Annual 2019 Funding and M&A Report. Consumer-focused companies received 60% of the funding.
Among digital health technologies, Mobile Health (mHealth) companies including, apps, mobile wireless devices, sensor-enabled wearables, and connected devices raised $2.2 billion in 198 deals.
A total of 365 investors participated in the mHealth sector in 2019, compared to 605 in 2018. Khosla Ventures invested in three mHealth companies. Fourteen investors made multiple investments in mHealth in 2019.
Of the $2.2 billion VC funding in the mHealth sector, Digital Health companies from the United States received $1.6 billion.
mHealth Apps secured $1.2 billion in 2019, followed by Mobile Wireless Devices, which received $556 million, and Sensor-enabled Wearables and Connected Devices, raised $457 million.
The Apps focused on Sleep raised the most funding in 2019 followed by Stress & Anxiety apps, Meditation apps, Depression, Fertility & Pregnancy, Heart Disease among others.
In total, the mHealth category has received almost $12 billion in funding since 2010. mHealth Apps alone have raised $6 billion since 2012, followed by Sensor-enabled Wearables and connected devices, which have received $3 billion since 2013, and Mobile Wireless Devices with $2.7 billion since 2010.
Top 5 mHealth funding deals in 2019:
Capsule, a digital pharmacy startup that takes electronic prescriptions from doctors through a mobile app and delivers the medication to a patient’s home or office, raised $200 million
Calm.com, which makes meditation, mindfulness, sleep, and relaxing app, raised $88 million, at a $1 billion valuation
BioSerenity, a provider of a wireless smart-clothing ECG monitoring system for epilepsy, cardiology, urology, sleep disorders, and pregnancy monitoring, raised $74 million
Weave – a provider of patient communication app that integrates patient conversations, texts, and appointments with SMS, e-mail, and a proprietary VoIP phone service – closed a $70 million
Pear Therapeutics – a developer of eFormulations that combine medication with digital intervention and engagement for sufferers of depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders – closed a $64 million Series C financing
In terms of exits, there were a total of 27 mHealth app acquisitions in 2019.
The top M&A Deals in 2019 was the acquisition of Fitbit a fitness wearable device company by Google, for approximately $2.1 billion. Google also acquired intellectual property related to a smartwatch technology currently under development from Fossil Group, an American fashion designer and manufacturer, for $40 million.
