From prevention to impact: Why chronic care is the next frontier in HealthTech
The healthcare sector is experiencing a surge of proactive health startups, ranging from wellness apps and wearables to digital coaching platforms. Business is booming, and according to Oliver Wyman, 50% of people track their health digitally; it is expected to grow up to 70% in the next decade. At the same time, it has become easier to complement the data from wearables with insights from blood tests and MRIs, as accessibility of blood tests is improving and the prices of MRI scans are expected to decrease in the future.
The premise is simple: knowledge is power. Real-time access to biometric data enables individuals to make better lifestyle choices and optimise their health on a daily basis.
Most proactive care startups today focus on “wellbeing optimisation”, improving sleep, nutrition, or exercise for already healthy consumers. These solutions are valuable, but they mainly support those who are already doing relatively well. However, as an investor in this space, I see the biggest opportunity not in incremental prevention for already healthy people, but in chronic proactive care, supporting those living with long-term illness.
Chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and respiratory illness, are responsible for 75% of global deaths, yet only 2% of health funding is directed toward prevention. Among these, chronic endocrine disorders are particularly devastating, driving increased cancer risk, disrupting the immune and nervous systems, and significantly reducing quality of life. The scale is striking: polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) alone affects an estimated 6 to 13% of women of reproductive age worldwide, yet up to 70% remain undiagnosed. As the leading cause of infertility, PCOS illustrates the enormous personal and societal cost of unmonitored endocrine disruption.
These conditions not only shorten lives but also sideline millions from the workforce. Even when patients seek care, access is often delayed or inadequate, compounding both human and economic losses. That is why I believe the most impactful proactive health startups are those focusing on chronic care. The need is enormous, patient demand is endless, and outcomes are measurable. If we want proactive actions to matter at scale, this is the place to start.
Healthtech for ill-health
As health care investors, we aim to back companies that deliver meaningful impact and build sustainable businesses, ensuring their products continue to help users over the long term. We think that these patients are found among those who are the most underserved today: chronic disease patients
Startups tackling chronic conditions will be the real breakthrough. By helping patients through continuous monitoring, connected hardware, or actionable insights into disease progression, they move far beyond sleek software and branding. What they build instead is a moat based on clinical relevance and patient trust.
An effective solution that improves patients’ experience of illness has the potential for long-term adoption. And unlike lifestyle apps, chronic proactive care solutions often open the door to reimbursement via private or public health insurance, making the business model more sustainable.
Healthtech is not without hurdles and therefore it is not surprising that we have not seen more startups being built in this space. Hardware is expensive, clinical trials are slow and unpredictable, and timelines can deter inexperienced investors. But here, technology, particularly AI, can play a role in speeding up trials and reducing development costs.
Companies leading the way
There are already several players collecting data from existing devices as well as developing their own. For example, Sava Health is developing patches for diabetes which not only track blood glucose, but also hormones in the blood. This means that they not only can target patients with diabetes, but potentially also to other chronic diseases related to hormonal imbalances.
Some companies focus specifically on women’s health by helping women track their hormones. For instance, Mira and Hormona have developed at-home urine tests that allow women to monitor their hormone levels over time, supporting the management of hormonal imbalances and conditions such as PCOS. Similarly, Samphire Neurosciences are helping women with their medical headband device, designed to reduce pain and mood-related symptoms during the luteal phase.
Together, these companies illustrate how today’s technology can help us better understand our bodies while also enabling new ways to reduce the burden of chronic diseases.
Impact = Opportunity
The potential impact is massive: improving quality of life, supporting workforce participation, and reducing the burden on strained healthcare systems. Preventive healthtech startups that prioritise chronic care are uniquely positioned in a market where trust is higher, need is constant, and results are measurable.
If health care is to become more proactive, this is where it must begin.
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