AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mercom Capital Group, LLC, a global communications and research firm, released its annual report on funding and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity for the Digital Health / Healthcare Information Technology (IT) sector for 2019. Mercom’s report covers deals of all sizes from around the world.
Global venture capital (VC) funding in digital health, including private equity and corporate VC, declined in 2019 with $8.9 billion (B) in 615 deals compared to $9.5 B in 698 deals in 2018. Total corporate funding for Digital Health companies - including VC, debt, and public market financing - reached $10.1B in 2019.
In 2019, debt and public market financing for Digital Health companies came to $1.7B in 20 deals in 2019 compared to $3.5B in 21 deals in 2018.
Chart: Digital Health VC Funding
Approximately 67% of Digital Health funding went to U.S. companies in 2019, with $5.9B in 2019 in 426 deals compared to $7B in 420 deals in 2018, a 16% decline in funding year-over-year (YoY). The United Kingdom was second with $853M, followed by China with $663M and France with $372M.
“After three consecutive years of growth, venture deals, and dollars for digital health companies declined in 2019. After a long dry spell, there were four U.S. IPOs, but their performance so far has been underwhelming. M&A activity also declined in 2019. The big winners were telemedicine companies, with a 55% increase in funding YoY while digital health products that were powered by AI, brought in over $2 billion,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.
Chart: Digital Health VC Funding 2010-2019
Chart: Top-Funded Digital Health Categories Since 2010
Top funded categories in 2019 included: Telemedicine with $1.8B, Data Analytics with $1.6B, mHealth Apps with $1.2B, Clinical Decision Support with $748M, Mobile Wireless with $556M, and Booking with $537M.
Chart: Top VC Funded Digital Health Categories
Top VC funding rounds: Babylon with $550M, Tencent Trusted Doctors with $250M, Collective Health with $205M, Capsule with $200M, and Tempus with $200M.
Chart: Digital Health – Top VC Funding Rounds
A total of 1,288 investors participated in Digital Health deals in 2019.
The most active VC investors since 2010 were: Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), and Merck Global Health Innovation Fund.
Chart: Digital Health Top VC Investors in 2019
There were 169 M&A transactions in 2019 compared to the 223 transactions in 2018. Nineteen companies participated in multiple transactions in 2019.
Chart: Digital Health M&A 2010-2019
mHealth Apps were the most acquired category in 2019 with 27 transactions, followed by Practice Management Solutions with 17, and Telemedicine with 14.
Chart: Top Digital Health M&A transactions
Mercom Capital Group, LLC is a global communications and research firm focused on digital health. Visit: www.mercomcapital.com, signup to get weekly market intelligence reports.