Introducing: Startup:NYC Season 1
Health and wellness tech is growing – in the first half of 2024, U.S. digital health startups raised $5.7 billion across 266 deals. In NYC alone, health tech companies raised $2.2B in H1 2024, about 35% greater than the same period last year. And it’s no surprise why – healthcare spending in the U.S. in 2023 rose to $4.8 trillion. Then there’s the fact that NYC was home to one-fifth of all women’s health tech deals in the US.
That’s why our first season of Startup:NYC focuses on founders who are shaping the future of the health and wellness sector. Launched in April, Startup:NYC is an 8-week program dedicated to supporting New York’s next superstar startups with tailored resources and closer ties to funding networks in New York City.
Today, we’re excited to announce the first cohort of nine trailblazing startups spanning stages from pre-seed to Series A:
BePresent: An app tackling phone addiction with AI coaching.
Candor Health: An AI-powered healthcare intelligence platform.
CareComply: A solution for nursing homes to save time and money on compliance issues.
Celeste Health: An AI-powered precision medicine company.
Hiveclass: A physical education digital curriculum that uses short-form videos and assessments to make quality instruction available to children everywhere.
KELLS: An AI-powered personal dental companion for personalized oral health and benefits, and supporting organizations offer quality dental benefits.
Lucid.Care Labs: A data-centric behavioral health tracking platform.
TheraMotive: An AI- and VR-powered mobile physical therapy clinic.
WD-Home: An app supporting and quantifying caregiver work for older people.
Startup:NYC will provide these founders with access to mentorship opportunities, exclusive Tech:NYC content, and networking events with investors and other industry experts. This is a community powered by a council of investors equally committed to level the playing field for founders of all backgrounds.
In addition, Startup:NYC taps Tech:NYC’s network of more than 800 member companies large and small — representing virtually every emerging subsector in the New York tech ecosystem, as well as VC firms crucial to a startup’s success — to provide participating startups with legal support, accounting and financial guidance, communications expertise, and product feedback.
What does this show? As Julie Samuels, Tech:NYC’s President and CEO, says: “One reason New York has emerged as a premier global tech hub in recent years is the collaboration and support within and across the industries. This is especially true in health and wellness tech — the proximity to New York’s world-leading medical care and research institutions has created an environment where groundbreaking ideas and new solutions to age-old problems are iterated upon every day. Connecting underrepresented founders in this field to the support they need to thrive can help us foster a more equitable tech industry, and a more equitable healthcare system as well.”
As we move forward together, we are grateful for the critical support of our sponsors and partners: EY, Google.org, Gunderson Dettmer, LLP, InnovateMap, Justworks, M13, Rho, Thoropass, and WeWork!
Stay tuned to our blog in the coming weeks as we feature each of these founders in our Companies to Watch series, and be sure to subscribe to our Daily Digest to stay up to date on their progress throughout the program.
