_{By Claire Johnson, Ahria Desai, Rishika Goteti, and Soledad Perez Leon}

Overview

In this issue of The Equity Effect, we explore how healthtech is transforming venture capital, with AI-driven diagnostics, digital therapeutics, and personalized care taking center stage. Investment in women’s health and oncology has surged, reflecting both massive market potential and urgent patient needs. From record-breaking funding in menopause and fertility solutions to AI-based tools for early cancer detection, venture capital is reshaping the healthcare landscape. You’ll see how patient-centered innovation, tech-enabled care models, and strategic funding structures are defining the next era of healthtech, and why investors and founders alike are recalibrating their strategies to meet this moment.

What’s Inside:

• Women’s Health on the Rise — $2.6B in VC funding in 2024, a 55% increase year-over-year.

• AI in Oncology — Tools like Outcomes4Me are personalizing care and improving early detection.

• Innovative Funding — Non-dilutive financing and dedicated medtech funds are driving growth.

• The Takeaway — Healthtech VC is patient-centered, data-driven, and poised for global impact

Where Capital Meets Care

When people think of healthcare innovation, they often picture hospitals, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices—not venture capital. Yet over the past decade, healthtech has become one of the fastest-growing sectors for VC investment, blending technology and medicine in ways that are reshaping patient care. From AI-driven diagnostics to digital therapeutics and personalized treatment plans, the relationship between venture capital and healthcare is now deeply intertwined. In 2024 alone, venture investment in women’s health and oncology surged, with $2.6 billion going into women’s health—a 55% jump from the previous year (Nasdaq).

What’s fueling this surge? The answer lies in data, demand, and disruption. Patients are demanding more personalized, accessible, and tech-enabled care, while investors are drawn to the long-term value of companies that use data to improve outcomes. The rise of AI platforms like Outcomes4Me shows how healthtech startups are using machine learning to personalize cancer care, connect patients to clinical trials, and streamline treatment decisions—all while addressing massive unmet needs.

Healthtech’s appeal also extends beyond innovation—it’s about impact. The sector offers investors a chance to generate returns while improving lives, creating a new model of “profit with purpose.” Funds like OrbiMed’s royalty and credit vehicles are even pioneering non-dilutive financing, giving founders the capital to scale while maintaining control of their mission.

In this issue, we’ll explore how healthtech is redefining venture capital’s future. We’ll dive into:

• AI in Oncology: How Outcomes4Me is using technology to personalize cancer treatment and empower patients

• Women’s Health on the Rise: Why record-breaking investment is fueling innovation in menopause, fertility, and beyond

• Innovative Funding Models: How non-dilutive financing and specialized funds are driving growth in medtech

Powering the Next Revolution of Healthcare

Healthtech remains one of the most transformative sectors in venture capital, especially with a growing emphasis on AI-driven diagnostics, digital therapeutics, and personalized medicine. In 2024 and into 2025, venture investment in the space has surged, especially in women’s health and oncology. This reflects both the commercial potential and urgent needs in these areas. Women’s health alone saw a record of $2.6 billion in VC funding in 2024, which is a 55% increase from the previous year (Nasdaq). Investors are responding to demand for better solutions in menopause, fertility, and conditions like breast cancer. In Q1 of 2025, the cancer and oncology space saw 63 R&D partnership deals at a combined value of about $21.4 billion as well as 22 M&A deals at a combined value of about $15.3 billion (DealForma). 

Recent funding rounds highlight where capital is flowing; Midi Health, a virtual care platform focused on menopause, raised $50 million in Series C funding in October 2025 in order to scale its AI-powered services (Business Insider). In terms of breast cancer specifically, DeepLook Medical closed its Series A round to support an AI-based imaging tool that improves the detections of lesions in breast tissue (HealthTech Curated). They hope this new funding will help increase their global presence and expand their solutions. There is a broader VC trend toward funding tech-enabled, proactive care models that prioritize accessibility and early intervention, especially for women’s health and cancer patients. 

Venture firms are also adjusting how they deploy capital to companies that have especially attractive goals in the health space. For example, OrbiMed’s fifth royalty and credit fund offers non-dilutive financing through royalties, allowing the venture’s founders to maintain ownership while raising capital (BioBuzz). This is significant because it allows the funders to act on their vision for the company without having the investors’ external influence, and maintains a strong valuation that will benefit the company in the future when looking to raise more capital (Excedr). Other VC firms are launching funds that focus specifically on medtech and women’s health so that they can address underfunded areas. These investments underscore how VC is actively shaping the future of healthtech by funding tools that are aiming to improve health outcomes.

Company Spotlight: Outcomes4Me

Founded in 2018 by former Novartis executive Maya R. said, Outcomes4Me is a Boston-based HealthTech company using artificial intelligence to empower cancer patients with personalized care guidance. The company’s free mobile platform integrates medical records, genomic data, and FDA-approved treatment options to help users navigate complex cancer decisions with evidence-based clarity (Forbes). What began as a

breast-cancer–focused app has evolved into one of the most comprehensive patient empowerment platforms in oncology, now used by more than 280,000 patients worldwide (TechCrunch).

Outcomes4Me stands out for being the only breast cancer app aligned with the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines, the same protocols oncologists rely on when determining patient treatment plans (BusinessWire). By translating these clinical recommendations into patient-friendly insights, the platform reduces confusion and delays that often arise between diagnosis and treatment. Patients can also connect directly to active clinical trials and receive real-time alerts when new options become available - an innovation that has increased trial enrollment rates in early pilots (MedCity News).

The company has attracted growing attention from venture capital investors focused on AI-driven healthcare infrastructure. In 2024, Outcomes4Me raised a $21 million Series B round led by Northpond Ventures, with participation from Cigna Ventures and Walgreens Boots Alliance (PR Newswire). The funding is being used to accelerate the platform’s AI capabilities and expand internationally, following its acquisition of Germany-based MIKA Health, a digital companion app for cancer symptom management and behavioral health (TechCrunch). The merger strengthens Outcomes4Me’s European presence and adds clinically validated support modules for stress, fatigue, and post-treatment recovery - key needs for breast cancer survivors.

Beyond technology, the company represents a broader movement in oncology toward patient-centered innovation. Traditional cancer care has long been fragmented, with patients juggling multiple portals, specialists, and paperwork. Outcomes4Me simplifies this experience by unifying treatment planning, side-effect tracking, and clinical trial discovery into a single interface - an approach that aligns with the industry’s shift toward value-based, data-driven care (Stat News).

As breast cancer remains the most common cancer among women worldwide, the market opportunity for personalized digital oncology tools is significant. According to McKinsey, the global oncology digital-care market is projected to exceed $20 billion by 2030, driven by the demand for remote patient monitoring and precision treatment guidance. Outcomes4Me’s early focus on breast cancer gives it both a clinical foothold and a strong emotional resonance during Breast Cancer Awareness Month - positioning it at the intersection of empathy and evidence.

However, challenges remain. The company must demonstrate that its digital guidance leads to measurable improvements in patient outcomes and secure deeper integrations with hospital systems to achieve scale (MedCity News). As competition grows from healthtech players like Flatiron Health and Tempus, maintaining differentiation through clinical validation and patient trust will be key.

Still, under Said’s leadership, Outcomes4Me is defining a new paradigm for how patients engage with their own care - one where AI augments understanding, not replaces human judgment. For venture capitalists, it represents the future of oncology technology: transparent, patient-empowering, and deeply personal.

Podcast of the Week 🎙️

This podcast episode explores how HealthTech professionals are creating an impact in women’s healthcare.

That’s a wrap for this week’s edition of The Equity Effect. Healthtech is redefining the venture landscape—where capital meets care, and innovation meets impact. From AI-driven oncology tools to record-breaking investment in women’s health, the sector is proving that better outcomes and stronger returns can go hand in hand.

If this edition got you thinking about the future of healthcare and venture capital, share it with a colleague, founder, or fellow investor. And if there’s a healthtech trend, startup, or funding strategy you think deserves the spotlight, let us know—we’re always listening.

See you next time,
The Equity Effect
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