12 hospital tech startups to watch, according to VCs

With public spending cuts, ageing populations and staff burnout all putting pressure on struggling healthcare systems across Europe, providers are increasingly looking to tech solutions to ease some of the burden. 

Across 2021 and 2022, VC money poured into European startups building tech for hospitals and clinics. $3.6bn was invested in that period, as the likes of surgery robotics company CMR Surgical and practice management software provider Doctolib raised nine-figure rounds.

Since then things have been a little quieter. While 2023 saw just $771m invested in the sector, CMR Surgical and DistalMotion, another robotics startup, both raised rounds north of $100m. The artificial intelligence boom also saw doctor copilot Corti raise $60m and cardiology startup Volta Medical pick up €36m.

But which startups developing hospital tech have investors got their eyes on as we head further into 2024?

To find out, Sifted spoke to VCs from LocalGlobe, General Catalyst, AlbionVC and YZR Capital.

Julia Hawkins, general partner at LocalGlobe

CogStack — UK

CogStack helps hospitals measure workforce productivity and automate data tasks (including clinical coding). It uses data models that have been trained and self-supervised on clinical text from 6m real-world patients and fine-tuned on 150k manual annotations. Its products have already been deployed in several hospitals. This year the company is spinning out and targeting first commercial pilots.

VitVio — UK

A computer vision and AI company for surgical operating rooms that will increase efficiency, ROI and safety. Its founders were leading product and engineering teams at an autonomous retail company. They are applying this experience to hospital operating theatres, with NHS trials already signed.

Newton’s Tree — UK

Newton’s Tree has developed an AI platform to help hospitals safely and cost-effectively introduce AI tools. Many providers want to take advantage of AI’s benefits to healthcare but the vast number and complexity of tools is a major barrier to adoption. Newton’s Tree helps providers identify which tools they need and quality checks these tools to make sure they’re safe. It’s a bridge that connects health-focused AI companies with the NHS to help professionals with their everyday tasks and relieve some of the pressures facing healthcare systems, all while improving patient care.

Alex Momeni, partner, General Catalyst

Arkhn — France

Arkhn helps hospitals manage their data. Legacy IT systems in hospitals have resulted in significant fragmentation and data silos, affecting financial, operational and clinical outcomes. Arkhn equips hospitals with a modern data stack and empowers decision makers with the analytic tools that drive better overall resource utilisation and improved care.

Tucuvi — Spain

Tucuvi automates medical phone conversations with AI. The greatest structural challenge faced in the healthcare system today is the shortage and burnout of the clinical workforce. Through clinical-grade AI, Tucuvi is driving care automation in patient engagement resulting in improved outcomes at lower cost.

Nabla — France

Nabla provides doctors with an AI-powered tool that generates clinical notes from patient consultations. It raised a $24m Series B in January 2024. 

Molly Gilmartin, investor, AlbionVC

Healthtech-1 — UK

Healthtech-1 automates admin tasks in primary care like patient registration and triage. The startup began automating patient registrations in primary care. From day one, it looked at building a product for both clinical and non-clinical team members — which is essential for improving patient care. While many solutions focus on the clinicians, the non-clinical team members can be just as important for patient experience and outcomes.

Ufonia — UK

Ufonia automates clinical conversations to improve the efficiency of patient pathways. The Ufonia team has broken down the patient pathway into building blocks and looked at where telephone consultations can be automated. This approach means its technology can scale across disease areas and is relevant across the health systems of different countries, presenting a significant market opportunity and a differentiated go-to market motion.

Phare Health — UK

Phare Health is a tool used to automate non-clinical administrative tasks. Founded by ex-DeepMind and Google Health workers, its initial approach of using AI to improve non-clinical workflows focused on medical coding really stands out as a clear wedge into the broader back office workflows. This approach is essential to ensure hospitals effectively manage resources and recover costs for the care delivered. Having accurate coding is essential for population health management at scale.

Doccla — UK

Doccla is one of the first companies to enable virtual wards at scale. Its founding team are highly experienced operators who have joined up remote patient monitoring and care delivery to significantly expand capacity. This has also increased the number of patients that can be managed outside of the hospital environment. This unique approach is a win for patients and providers as it enables improved patient outcomes with efficiency gain and cost savings.

Reinhard Meier, founding partner, YZR Capital

Ganymed Robotics — France

Ganymed Robotics is developing robotic systems designed to assist surgeons in performing minimally invasive procedures. Its robotic platforms leverage technologies such as artificial intelligence, computer vision and haptic feedback to enable surgeons to perform complex surgical tasks with enhanced dexterity and control.

Esper Bionics — US/Ukraine

Esper Bionics has made groundbreaking advances in prosthetic technology and its profound impact on enhancing the quality of life for individuals with limb loss. Esper’s prosthetic devices are engineered to closely mimic the function and aesthetics of natural limbs, enabling users to regain mobility, independence and confidence in their daily lives. The combination of hardware, design, personalisation, functionality and software platform is unique in this field.