Healthtech Pigeon

What better way to find out what kind of founders VCs love than to hear it straight from a VC? Pigeon knows that securing VC funding hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park lately. So when we got some VCs in the studio, we had to ask the question everyone wants to know : What makes a VC want to invest in a founder? According to LongeVC’s Artem A. Trotsyuk, storytelling is everything. A founder’s ability to craft a compelling narrative can make or break their success ⬇️

Yeah, healthtech is great... but what’s the point if we don’t use it make sure our favourite pets live a little longer too? Some might argue that’s a bit of an absurd viewpoint. But we’re free Pigeons and we’ve got the right to talk about whatever we want* in our weekly roundup of the best stories in healthtech, which include…👇 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Health Tech World reports as NHS Highland releases data on EQL’s Phio service's impact on MSK issues 🤐 Cate Lawrence highlights the campaign to stop censoring women’s health promotion on social media led by Béa Fertility, Aquafit Intimate, Geen, LactApp, HANX and Daye 💽  Jordan Sollof shares the concerns of the chief Data and Analytics Officers Network on the capabilities of the federated data platform 🚪 Hinge Health files for IPO 🧠 AI could predict young people's mental health risks before they emerge, writes Eric Dolan 🦾 But it struggles with predicting patient mortality in the ICU, reports Healthcare in Europe ✂️ Henry Anderson, Dave West and James Illman find virtual wards and cancer testing are in line for NHS cuts 🦀 Healx doses its first patient with an AI-created drug, explains Tony Quested 😺 Theron Mohamed examines Kevin O’Leary’s windfall from a feline genetic-testing service investment 🔞 Anti-aging pills for your dog have arrived. Pods from... 🔊The Healthtech Pigeon podcast with SomX’s Dr. James Somauroo and LongeVC’s Sergey Jakimov and Artem A. Trotsyuk 🔊 The Healthtech Podcast with Dr. Tom Jia 🔊 Raising Health talks AI and Mental Health Access with Neil Parikh and Daniel Cahn 🔊 The Health Technology Podcast explores tech’s role in tackling anxiety, insomnia and obesity. *a freedom not granted to women’s health companies on social media, apparently. Find all the stories – as well as the best jobs, pods and events in healthtech – at healthtech pigeon dot com #digitalhealth #healthtech #healthcare #healthtechpigeon #healthAI

The good news? A pill could make your dog live longer. The bad news? as a human, you still have to make healthy lifestyle choices. Biotech startup Loyal has created an anti-aging pill for dogs, designed to extend their healthy lifespan by at least a year. The FDA has even certified it as “effective.” Naturally, Pigeon started wondering, could something like this work for humans too? LongeVC's Sergey Jakimov suggests that instead of chasing longevity in a pill, making smarter, healthier lifestyle choices will get you the same results ⬇️

Everybody wants to build the “Amazon of women’s health” FirstWord HealthTech's Tina Tan joined the Pigeon pod this week to help us understand what kind of companies Flo Health could be eyeing up after they indicated an M&A spree could be imminent. The bad news: if you’re dead-set on building a solution, not a company, you might be nearing the end of the road. The good news though? there’s a lot of money being thrown at the right businesses working in women's health, and that can only be a good thing for everyone involved.

🤔 Decisions, decisions, decisions: healthtech is drowning in them – and each comes riddled with consequences... 💰What to acquire (or invest in) when there’s so much great tech? 👍What to prioritise (when you don’t have any money left)? ⏎ What to pivot your company to next (when the last 10 ideas didn’t work)? If you’re caught on the horns of a healthtech dilemma, be assured you’re not alone – as evidenced by the complex quagmire that is this week’s best healthtech stories, which include 👇 ❌ The Recursive reports as XUND picks up €6M for its AI as a medical device for personalised care 🦍 Kai Nicol-Schwarz shares an update on Gorillas’ ex founders forays into healthtech 💰 Business News Australia lifts the lid on Aussie AI scribe Heidi Health’s $16m raise 🔮 Jordan Sollof explores the AI that’s predicting hospital stay-length for people with learning disabilities  🍂 Cera locks in a national NHS partnership as Robert Barrie explains 💸 Sofinnova Partners confirms a massive pot of funding for life sciences, says Matt Dennis 👍 Elizabeth Eaton finds out more about Rune Labs’ AI-assisted coaching solution for Parkinson’s disease 3️⃣ Sarah Boseley sets out the dilemma facing Wes Streeting’s NHS plans 🦄 Flo Health Inc. eyes up acquisitions following last year’s mega-raise 🧠 MYndspan and MEGIN team up for accessible brain scanning Pods from… 🔊 The Healthtech Pigeon Podcast with SomX’s Amy Thomas, Huw Penson and FirstWord HealthTech’s Tina Tan 🔊The Healthtech Podcast with Dr. James Somauroo and Goodwin's Sophie McGrath 🔊Talking General Practice speaks to John Ford and Liam Loftus from Queen Mary University of London’s Health Equity Evidence Centre  🔊The Microsoft Research Podcast’s Peter Lee introduces the AI Revolution in medicine. Find all the stories – as well as the best jobs, pods and events in healthtech – at healthtech pigeon dot com #digitalhealth #healthtech #healthcare #healthtechpigeon #healthAI

We’ll keep it simple this week: Jobs. You want ‘em, Pigeon’s got em. Ok, we don’t actually have ‘em, but these folks certainly do. 📎 Lead Product Engineer, Aneira Health 📎 Clinical Lead for Neuroradiology, Hexarad 📎 Back End Developer, Nabla 📎 Project Manager, Clue 📎 Biomedical Scientist, Unravel Health Find out more details and how to apply at healthtech pigeon dot com

🇫🇷 Parlez-vous AI?* Whether you’re up to your eyeballs in clinical innovation, or you just want to know what event to go to… …if healthtech’s your jam, our little roundup of the week’s best healthtech stories has got you covered 👇 🧠 Andrew Gregory has the scoop on how brain stimulation could relieve anxiety for those living with Parkinson’s disease 📚 Tony Quested shares Healx’s leap forward in Ai drug discovery 🧬 Ngai Yeung reports on the latest move in Anne Wojcicki’’s efforts to take 23andMe private ⚡️ Philippa Roxby covers the AI tool detecting epilepsy brain lesions doctors may miss ⏰ The Health Foundation's Ben Shemesh, Ellen Coughlan and Tim Horton report on the tech that is (and isn’t) saving time for the NHS 🇫🇷 Christophe GATTUSO lifts the lid on France’s big medical AI investment 👀 Marta G. Zanchi shares Nina Capital’s insights from 50 days of 2025 healthtech investment  🚨 Denis Campbell covers the bombshell departure as NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard steps down 💰 Emma Beavins has the lowdown on Avandra Imaging’s $17.5m raise for federated imaging Pods from... 🔊 The Healthtech Pigeon podcast with Huw Penson and The Health Foundation's Ben Shemesh 🔊Talking HealthTech’s Peter Birch talks interoperability with Telstra Health’s Dr Monica Trujillo and Dr Janice Tan, and Smile Digital Health’s Rob Reynolds 🔊 What the Healthtech sits down with Erica Pryce to discuss the role of tech in social care. Find all the stories – as well as the best jobs, pods and events in healthtech – at healthtech pigeon dot com #digitalhealth #healthtech #healthcare #healthtechpigeon #healthAI

Now, this may be rich coming from Pigeon, but technology isn’t always the answer… We know that the NHS is drowning in work, and we typically hail tech as the life raft, but findings from The Health Foundation paint a more complex picture. While some innovations genuinely help, others create extra tasks, add confusion, and ultimately make staff jobs harder. As The Health Foundation’s Ben Shemesh points out, the common argument that tech should “give clinicians their time back” doesn’t – and shouldn’t – automatically mean squeezing in more patient appointments. What if they just want a cuppa?☕️

Maybe Pigeon’s overreacting, but we’re starting to think healthcare might have a teensy-weensy little trust problem brewing… From random regulatory hacks to a poor showing in AI’s latest pulse survey, could we be seeing the first signs of something some might call a pattern? If you want to help us find it, why not subscribe to our little roundup of the best healthtech stories of the week –  including…👇 💎 Francesca (Check) Warner puts a spotlight on healthtech’s ‘hidden gems’ 🔬 Jon Hoeksma shares an update on government plans for a universal patient record 👎 Patient’s don’t trust health systems to use AI responsibly says Anuja Vaidya.. 👍 So Prof Karim Lekadir et al have developed a framework for its (trustworthy) use. ✂️ Rachael Levy and Marisa Taylor examine what DOGE’s FDA cuts might mean for Neuralink 🛫 Dean Takahashi reports on Paperplane Therapeutics Virtual Reality's $1.5m raise for VR pain relief. 🍎  pharmaphorum’s Phil Taylor covers Apple’s partnership with Brigham and Women's hospital ⛓️💥 hormona CEO Karolina Löfqvist explains what’s wrong with women’s healthcare. 🫁 Qureight partners with Vicore Pharma AB Pharma for a study of buloxibutid for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. 📹 Featured: Whereby share their journey to becoming a trusted video call service for leading telehealth platforms. Pods from… 🔊 The Healthtech Pigeon podcast with Amy Thomas, Huw Penson and Center for Telehealth and eHealth Law (CTeL)'s Christa Natoli (She/Her) 🔊 The Healthtech Podcast with Dr. James Somauroo and MyCardium AI’s Charlotte Manisty MBBS FRCP PhD FESC 🔊 Faces Of Digital Health Podcast explains the DIME Seal for identifying high quality digital health apps. Find all the stories – as well as the best jobs, pods and events in healthtech – at healthtech pigeon dot com Thanks again to Whereby for sponsoring this week’s newsletter. #digitalhealth #healthtech #healthcare #healthtechpigeon #healthAI

😲 What was that? Oh yeah, it was February flying past you like a doctor getting an urgent beeper message. If, like Pigeon, you’ve barely had a moment to breathe since January started,  it's probably because you love what you do. But if you don’t, maybe its time to take a beat, smell the roses, and think about the exciting roles available at some of healthtech’s best companies 👇 📎 Clinical Associate, Hardian Health 📎 Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), Antiverse 📎 Media Officer, The Royal College of Radiologists 📎 Downstream Marketing Manager, Synchron 📎 Growth Manager – Squirrel AI Saas Compliance Platform, Acorn Compliance Find out more details and how to apply at healthtech pigeon dot com Who knows? You might see something you like… Thanks again to SciQ for sponsoring Pigeon this week!