University Hospitals in Cleveland is giving UH Ventures — its innovation and commercialization arm — a larger role in shaping systemwide priorities, even as it holds steady on its venture investment strategy amid financial pressures.
“We have not done any major restructuring in light of the current financial pressures and budget constraints; however, we are seeing more and more companies leveraging AI tools that impact operational efficiencies,” Neil Wyant, vice president and managing director of UH Ventures, told Becker’s.
For nearly a decade, UH Ventures has measured its performance by its impact on the quadruple bottom line — revenue, operations, patient experience and caregiver experience.
“These pillars continue to guide our venture investment decisions,” Kipum Lee, PhD, vice president of UH Ventures, told Becker’s.
In early 2024, University Hospitals turned to UH Ventures’ in-house innovation team — rather than an outside consulting agency — to help shape systemwide strategy. Dr. Lee said the team applied the same human-centered design and innovation frameworks that have fueled its commercialization work to identify high-value problems, bring together key stakeholders, and highlight the most important opportunities for the health system.
“This has helped the organization synthesize and align around three core strategic priorities to drive clarity, focus and discipline across the enterprise,” he said.
University Hospitals launched UH Ventures in 2019. It fosters innovative ideas from staff through its UH Caregiver program, supports outside healthcare startups, collaborates with industry partners on product development, and teams with other VC and health system investors on funding rounds.
