Former Infratil CEO Marko Bogoievski’s new investment vehicle is backing medtech companies globally.
Article source: Fiona Rotherham, Caffeine
Conditions for raising capital are “dramatically different” now from when much-lauded medical device startup Alimetry raised money in late 2021.
Globally, venture capital funding for healthtech companies hit an all-time high in 2021 following the Covid pandemic, but that funding pipeline started drying up last year with rising interest rates and market volatility.
Alimetry – one of 235 active homegrown medical device, digital health and health IT startups – raised $16.3 million in late 2021 in a heavily oversubscribed round that included IP Group and a number of local VCs. It’s commercialising its first product, Gastric Alimetry, which is a wearable medical device that helps diagnose gastric disease.
It’s making good progress on a US$15 million (NZ$24.5 million) Series B capital raise to accelerate expansion in the US, but founder and CEO Professor Greg O’Grady says overall conditions have tightened in line with the macro environment.
There’s still some money for seed stage, as well as at growth stage for healthtech companies demonstrating strong revenues, but for those in between he says the funding environment is dramatically tighter than it was a couple of years ago. “Even then, the deals have changed at the other stages as well – they’re much more weighted towards the investor now.”