Health systems across the country are diving deeper into the startup world, forming new alliances with venture capital firms and innovation studios to co-create and fund the next generation of healthcare technology companies.
In May, 17 healthcare organizations joined forces with venture firm Abundant Venture Partners to support a new initiative focused on building companies that deliver value to healthcare providers. The collaborative platform, known as the Abundant Alliance, is designed to foster co-development between health systems and startups.
Participating organizations include Newark, Del.-based ChristianaCare; Dayton, Ohio-based Kettering Health; Charleston, S.C.-based Medical University of South Carolina; Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Columbia, Md.-based MedStar Health; and San Diego-based Sharp HealthCare. These health systems will serve as co-developers, early adopters, and aligned owners of the startups created through the alliance.
Elsewhere, Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai has teamed up with venture studio Redesign Health to launch its own innovation platform. This new initiative will operate as a structured entrepreneurship hub within the health system, designed to build and scale companies that address some of healthcare’s most pressing challenges.
Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic is also expanding its innovation footprint. The health system recently unveiled Mayo Venture Partner, a new program aimed at accelerating healthcare breakthroughs through strategic partnerships and startup creation. The initiative will bring together experienced entrepreneurs, investors, Mayo’s business development team, and clinical leaders to launch companies rooted in the system’s deep clinical expertise.
Taken together, these efforts mark a growing trend among health systems to not just adopt new technologies—but help build them from the ground up.
