ARTICLE SUMMARY:
Early indicators are positive for the medtech start-up community, with an uptick in funding deals and exits in the first weeks of the new year. Companies focused on heart failure (FIRE1, Alleviant Medical), neurology (Ceribell, Zeto, Saluda Medical), diabetes (Beta Bionics, CeQur), and AI solutions (Neko Health, Quibim) all gained ground recently. But longer-term uncertainties still loom, and the road ahead could be bumpy.
Building on last year’s positive momentum, the medtech start-up community racked up more gains right out of the gate in 2025, with substantial equity raises across a variety of clinical specialties and some encouraging news on the exit front as well, all early indicators of a busy year ahead on the fundraising front.
That said, the journey could be bumpy. Longer-term economic and geopolitical uncertainties still cloud the horizon, and some companies that exited 2024 teetering on the edge could face a funding reckoning in 2025. As Paul Grand, CEO of MedTech Innovator, recently noted, there has been a “clear uptick” in funding in early 2025, and “exit activity was the buzz at JPM [the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, held in January],” with increasing M&A and the IPO pipeline “finally opening up.” Still, 2025 is likely to be a “roller coaster,” he predicts, with “incredible highs and devastating lows.” Although Grand told MedTech Strategist he does not necessarily foresee an increase in company failures this year, he expects plenty of bumps in the road, including “many failures, downsizing, and other funding struggles.”
