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We look at some of Europe’s most promising health-techs changing the way we access and experience healthcare, from speeding up cancer screening to turning smartphones into medtech gadgets.
The past few years have seen growing interest in revolutionising healthcare using emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality and even quantum computing. According to Statista, revenue in digital health is projected to reach nearly $194bn this year.
Start-ups are at the centre of this innovation, finding new ways to solve existing problems using the most recent advances in tech. All this despite a tough funding climate. Here are some of the most promising European start-ups shaping the future of healthcare.
Akara Robotics
A household name in the Irish start-up ecosystem, Akara is the creator of Stevie, a social care robot designed to be an assistant in elder care facilities. The team behind Stevie worked closely with charities supporting the elderly and spent months in trial studies at senior care facilities in the UK and the US.
Akara also created a robot equipped with ultraviolet technology designed to eliminate bacteria and viruses with the aim of making disinfecting hospitals safer and faster. And just last week, founders Cian Donovan and Robbie Scott were featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list.
Alan
This French unicorn is one of Europe’s fastest-growing health start-ups. Founded by Jean-Charles Samuelian-Werve and Charles Gorintin in 2016, Alan started off as a health insurance product to complement the national health insurance system in France. After multiple funding rounds and service expansions, the tech start-up now has more than half a million people on board its insurance product.
Now a one-stop-shop for all things health, Paris-based Alan has recently dipped its toes in the world of AI as it nears profitability. It raised nearly $200m in 2022 led by Teachers’ Venture Growth.
Anima
On a mission to bring “everything a care team needs into a single platform”, Anima is a health-tech based in London that has been gathering some recent investor investment. The company combines online consultation with its own productivity tools to reduce wait times significantly and increase the number of patients a team can manage.
Anima, founded by Shun Pang and Rachel Mumford in 2021, claims it has already acquired 200 medical practices as clients, with these teams providing care to more than 2m patients. Last month, it raised $12m in an oversubscribed funding round led by Molten Ventures, with participation from Hummingbird Ventures, Amino Collective and Y Combinator.
BoobyBiome
Co-founded by Cork native Dr Tara O’Driscoll, BoobyBiome is a biotech start-up that is working on a formula supplement from breast milk that contains key microbiome species, aimed at priming the infant immune system.
The company is based in the Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health in London and was co-founded by O’Driscoll along with Dr Sioned Jones and Dr Lydia Mapstone, who were concerned about the rising incident rate of infant diseases linked to inadequate microbiome development. O’Driscoll was one of several Irish founders to be named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list last week.
Galenband
Also in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list was Oisín McGrath, co-founder of wearables medtech Galenband. The University of Galway spin-out is combining an upper-arm band with AI algorithms to monitor patients for atrial fibrillation, which is the most common deadly heart rhythm abnormality.
Galenband is a previous One to Watch Award winner at Enterprise Ireland’s Big Ideas showcase in 2020, when it also took home the Viewers’ Choice Award. The company is also a former SiliconRepublic.com Start-up of the Week.
Happitech
This innovative Dutch start-up has built an app that can use a smartphone’s sensors to measure a whole host of cardiac health indicators, including heart rate, heart rate variability and atrial fibrillation, or Afib. Based in Amsterdam, Happitech was founded by Yosef Safi Harb.
The app can be used by any smartphone that has a camera and flash and is based on the principles of photoplethysmography – a technology used in smart watches such as Fitbit and Apple Watch. Happitech was one of the finalists at Medtech Innovator last year.
Kheiron
Named as one of the seven biggest medical breakthroughs in the world last year by ABC News, Kheiron is a health-tech start-up from London that is transforming cancer diagnostics with the power of AI. Its flagship tool – Mia – helps doctors use AI to screen for breast cancer and promises greater speed and accuracy.
Kheiron was founded by Dr Peter Kecskemethy and Tobias Rijken in 2016. A study by Nature last year revealed that its Mia AI tool increases the breast cancer detection rate by 13pc.
Kry
This Stockholm-based start-up has built a digital healthcare platform that provides digital healthcare services, including video consultations with doctors. Founded in 2015 by CEO Johannes Schildt, Kry saw a massive surge in demand during the pandemic, when in-person consultations were not a possibility.
Other than its home Sweden, Kry also has a presence in the UK and France, where it is known as Livi. Its services are available all over Europe, but France is now its leading market.
Neurovalens
Our latest Start-up of the Week, Neurovalens is a Belfast-based start-up that was founded by Dr Jason McKeown and Dr Paul McGeoch in 2015. The promising medtech has developed a non-invasive technique that allows stimulation of the deep parts of the brain to treat a range of issues such as insomnia and anxiety.
“Previously, this was only possible by surgical implantation. However, when using Neurovalens’ technology, stimulation can be delivered to the skin at the back of the head,” McKeown told SiliconRepublic.com last week. The company has received two FDA approvals in a space of five months.
Patient21
Patient21 is not your typical health-tech start-up in that it has real brick-and-mortar clinics around Germany, where it is based. The company combines its digital healthcare platform with physical clinics to provide a vast range of healthcare services, from bookings and health records to even insurance.
It was founded by Christopher Muhr, Nicolas Hantzsch and Dr Sebastian Duong and is based in Berlin. Last year, it raised €100m in a Series C round of funding led by Israeli VC firm Pitango.
Peppy
Based in London, Peppy pitches itself as a digital health app that supports menopause, fertility, men’s health, women’s health and more with real health experts. Primarily focused on employee benefits, the start-up works with employers and private medical insurers to offer support to individuals through live consultations and wellbeing courses.
Co-founded by chair Dr Mridula Pore, Max Landry and CEO Evan Harris, Peppy is used by many big industry names including Accenture, Adobe and even Disney. It raised $45m in a Series B round last year to expand to the US.
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