In less than two years, digital health’s high-flying class of public debuts have landed with a resounding thud.
Accelerated by the pandemic’s forced adoption of telehealth and other digital health solutions, 2021 saw more than 30 health technology startups go public, raising hundreds of millions and in some cases billions of dollars. Today, three members of the class of 2021 have gone bankrupt. Twelve companies have lost more than 90% of their initial value, including Bright Health Group, Cue Health, and Better Therapeutics. And dangerously low reserves have inspired desperate moves to slash costs, drum up liquidity, and find buyers.
Most recently, the bankruptcy of digital primary care company Babylon Health has drawn attention to the plight of newly-public health tech companies, and how the froth of dealmaking at the height of the pandemic led to overblown valuations. Before its debut in June 2021, Babylon was valued at $4.2 billion; after filing for bankruptcy in August, its U.K. telemedicine business was sold for just over $600,000.