UnityPoint Health, a hospital network based in the Midwest, is stepping up to invest in digital health and healthcare services solutions with a new $100 million venture fund, UnityPoint Health Ventures Innovation Fund. The fund will look to invest in early-stage companies with a focus in digital health, medical devices, therapeutic spaces and healthcare services.
The venture is led by Kent Lehr, vice president of strategy and business development, as well as Matthew Warrens.
The move mirrors some other major healthcare companies, including health insurance giant Cigna, which launched a venture capital fund, Cigna Ventures, last year to invest in startups and growth-stage companies in areas that included digital health.
Through the venture fund, UnityPoint hopes to connect clinical and operational leaders in the industry with entrepreneurs to test and scale solutions that will lower healthcare costs, improve care quality and improve population health.
“UnityPoint Health Ventures provides a platform for our clinical and operational leaders, who are some of the most knowledgeable and innovative individuals in the industry, to lend expertise to early stage companies seeking to revolutionize care delivery and experience,” Warrens, managing director of innovations at UnityPoint Health Ventures, said in a statement. “By establishing this fund, we can leverage our experience, institutional expertise and solid investment track record to dramatically accelerate the growth for our portfolio companies and boost our own access to advanced healthcare solutions.”
The fund will benefit the health system by connecting it to companies that can provide solutions for sustainability, growth and advancements in value-based care, while UnityPoint can help out companies looking to benefit from access to the health system’s resources, according to a press release.
The capital for the fund came from a reallocation of funds already intended to be invested, according to UnityPoint, without funding from operations. The venture fund represents just 5% of the organization’s overall investment portfolio.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."