If you are looking for a place where healthtech startups thrive, cast your eyes on Denmark, a country leading in digital innovation, healthcare and investment.
According to data platform Dealroom, in 2023, Danish healthtech startups raised a staggering $835 million in 2023, marking an 11 percent increase from the previous record in 2021.
Further, amid a 37 percent drop in VC investment across Europe, Denmark, along with only three other countries, including North Macedonia, Ukraine, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, witnessed an increase in VC investments.
Why Denmark?
When it comes to healthcare, Denmark has a digital-first approach. 99 percent of its citizens have access to Electronic Health Records and 84 percent utilise telemedicine services. This creates a fertile ground for healthtech innovation. It's home to internationally renowned companies like Be My Eyes and Lenus.
The Danish government actively supports healthtech through entities like Innovation Fund Denmark and the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark.
The country also boasts a vast network of active investors, both domestic and international, who have consistently shown confidence in Danish healthtech startups.
According to Avnit Singh, CEO of TechBBQ, sees the figures as evidence of Denmark's absolute positions of strength in innovation and growth, even though 2023 proved a challenging year for startup investment.
"At TechBBQ, we have a Novo Nordisk-funded Life Science project that aims to support early-stage startups to hatch, grow and become strong in Denmark.
A positive industry trend such as this will definitely boost the motivation of each individual founder to work even harder for their project to succeed.«
Jesper Grønbæk, CEO of HealthTech Hub Copenhagen, cites a strong private tech sector, a supportive government, a significant focus on digitalisation in healthcare, and a robust local startup ecosystem as contributions to the unprecedented growth in health tech investments.
A notable example is Corti, a pioneering startup in health AI, which secured a record $60 million in Series B funding in 2023.
The company uses AI to help healthcare providers deliver the right healthcare to patients at the right time. Its developed a co-pilot, trained on millions of patient interactions that acts as a second set of eyes, ears, and hands.
In addition to providing a nudge as to when to deliver what care, Corti also provides journaling, coding, and QA services.
Grønbæk, however, notes that when it comes to the sustainability of the healthtech in practice:
"A structured reimbursement model for digital health (as DiGA in Germany and PECAN in France) is still necessary to ensure that solutions developed in Denmark also benefit our citizens."
5 Danish healthtech companies to watch
Brain+
Brain+ is addressing one of the largest healthcare challenges of our time, namely dementia.
The company is developing medical software to detect and treat the cognitive symptoms of dementia and the most common cause of dementia, namely Alzheimer's disease.
These digital therapeutics can have health effects similar to traditional, chemically-based medicine. It can be used either as a complementary treatment to classic medicine or as a standalone solution in areas where conventional drugs do not offer a solution.
Konfront
Konfront is a digital well-being and teaching platform that supports efforts to strengthen well-being among children, adolescents and adults. Using evidence-based methods, it helps healthcare and care professionals support the needs of their clients.
Human Bytes
It's not easy for anyone, much less busy healthcare professionals, to determine the best use of AI in their daily practices.
Human Bytes wants to unlock the full potential of artificial intelligence for better and faster healthcare. It brings the world's best regulatory-approved AI solutions to the Nordic for immediate value creation, reducing workload and improving patient outcomes.
Precure
As the name suggests, Precure is focused on addressing workplace health and safety challenges before they become a problem. And that's all of us hunched over our laptops.
Its developed a solution that includes a company dashboard, wearable tech, and corresponding app that are used in conjunction to improve the prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders.
Femilog
There are very few digital solutions for women in menopause. Women's midlife journeys have been completely overlooked.
Femilog has developed a menopause health tracker that helps women track and tackle menopause symptoms head-on. It allows people with vulvas to monitor their symptom patterns, identify triggers and measure progress over time.
Furthermore, Femilog is the only menopause tracker that lets you share your results with your doctor.
Lead image: CDC.
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