Health tech investments are picking up steam. Here are 5 VC leaders behind the biggest recent deals

Anne Thompson

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Health tech investments are showing signs of resilience following the perilous lows of 2022 and 2023: Just this past month, two startups that analysts believe might be getting ready for IPOs raised more than $100 million in late-stage funding rounds. And deal volume hit a record high in the second quarter, largely from early-stage deals, according to a Silicon Valley Bank analysis.

Mega-deals — those drawing more than $100 million in venture money — still remain relatively rare. And “[t]he bar for success has undoubtedly risen,” according to Bessemer Venture Partners. “Investors are demanding clearer paths to profitability, more efficient growth, and a differentiated path to value creation.”

Who are these investors, and what exactly are they looking for? STAT tracked down the managing directors and general partners leading some of health tech’s recent and biggest venture deals — including Maven Clinic, which brought in $125 million in a Series F round, and Glooko, a digital diabetes care company that raised $100 million in its own Series F this October — to learn what types of businesses are impressing venture capital investors. These are the people who scoured the market for potential targets, did the due diligence, and eventually signed the checks.

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