2021 year-end digital health funding: Seismic shifts beneath the surface

If you’ve been following our updates, you know 2021 was a (the!) year for digital health venture funding: In July, we reported that the year had already topped all of digital health’s previous annual funding records with six months left to go. While it may feel like old news to share just how momentous 2021 was, our updated funding graphs—with extended axes just to capture 2021’s growth—speak for themselves.

However, beneath the chart-topping numbers are signals of something deeper. 2021’s funding frenzy was, at points, both the cause and effect of bigger shifts within healthcare. Specifically, the sector experienced major changes to its infrastructure, business models, and talent pool that will make downstream effects in 2022 inevitable.

In this piece, we’ll review 2021’s funding environment with a focus on the underlying changes beneath the surface’s venture stats. We’ll place our bets on how the digital health landscape will move throughout 2022—and where there might be tremors ahead.