Biotech & Health

Read the latest news about biotech and health, from the latest health tech and medical devices to research in synthetic biology and genetics. Our biotech coverage has startups and research from around the world in context with industry and investment trends.

The San Jose-based startup raised $60 million in a round that values it lower than the $500 million valuation it garnered in its most recent round, according to multiple sources.

Sequoia-backed Knowde raises Series C at a valuation cut

The company also said it has received regulatory clearance to start Phase 2 clinical trials for a new drug in the U.S. later this year.

Healx, an AI-enabled drug discovery platform for rare diseases, raises $47M

Women’s health tech, which leverages innovations in AI, smartphones and connected wearables to give women more insights into reproductive and menstrual health, continues to gain momentum with users, and investors…

Fertility tracking app Flo Health raises $200M at a $1B+ valuation

Voice recognition is getting integrated in nearly all facets of modern living, but there remains a big gap: Speakers of minority languages and those with thick accents or speech disorders…

Intron Health gets backing for its speech-recognition tool that recognizes African accents

Dental care is a necessity, yet many patients lack confidence in their dentists’ ability to provide accurate diagnoses and appropriate treatments. Some dentists overtreat patients, leading to unnecessary expenses, while…

Pearl raises $58M to help dentists make better diagnoses using AI 

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Strava’s next chapter: New CEO talks AI, inclusivity, and why ‘dark mode’ took so long

TechCrunch sat down with Strava’s new CEO in London for a wide-ranging interview, delving into what the company is prioritizing, and what we can expect in the future as the company embarks on its “next chapter.”

Strava’s next chapter: New CEO talks AI, inclusivity, and why ‘dark mode’ took so long

The smart ring has long played second fiddle to the smart watch. While tech giants like Apple and Google duked it out over wrists for years, the ring has been…

Ultrahuman’s smart ring gets AFib detection

People in tech often say that data is the new oil. That phrase, coined by British mathematician Clive Humby, of course implies that data is valuable. Data about a person’s…

AI-powered Regard nabs $61M to find missed illness, boost hospital revenue

Seae Ventures is acquiring Unseen Capital after the death of founder Kayode Owens in 2021. The combined firm will continue to invest in healthcare for minorities and underserved populations. Owens,…

Seae Ventures acquires Unseen Capital after founder death

Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are throwing their weight behind a new venture, Thrive AI Health, that aims to build AI-powered assistant tech to promote…

OpenAI Startup Fund backs AI healthcare venture with Arianna Huffington

J2 Ventures, a firm led mostly by U.S. military veterans, announced on Thursday that it has raised a $150 million second fund. The Boston-based firm invests in startups whose products…

J2 Ventures, focused on military healthcare, grabs $150M for its second fund

Ashwin Nandakumar and Ashwin Jainarayanan were working on their doctorates at adjacent departments in Oxford, but they didn’t know each other. Nandakumar, who was studying oncology, one day stumbled across…

Granza Bio grabs $7M seed from Felicis and YC to advance delivery of cancer treatments

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Robot cats, dogs and birds are being deployed amid an ‘epidemic of loneliness’

Founded in 2015 as a Hasbro spinoff, Ageless Innovations specializes in producing robotic companion animals for the aging population through its Joy for All brand.

Robot cats, dogs and birds are being deployed amid an ‘epidemic of loneliness’

Welcome back to another recap of Equity, TechCrunch’s flagship podcast about the business of startups. This episode is jam-packed with deals, hot topics and the…

AI-powered drug development, VW teams up with Rivian and DEI is ‘bad’

Amazon is folding its Amazon Clinic telehealth service into its primary care business One Medical, the company announced on Thursday.  The company explained in today’s blog post that, to simplify…

Amazon consolidates Amazon Clinic into the One Medical brand

SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son announced on Thursday that the Japanese tech giant has set up a joint venture in the country with Chicago-based health tech company Tempus. Together, the…

SoftBank forms AI healthcare JV in Japan with Tempus

Can chatbots replace human therapists? Some startups — and patients — claim that they can. But it’s not exactly settled science. One study found that 80% of people who’ve used…

Sonia’s AI chatbot steps in for therapists

Formation builds tech-forward solutions for clinical trials and drug development.

Formation Bio raises $372M to boost drug development with AI

Older adults increasingly want to age in their homes rather than nursing facilities. A study by the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) found that nearly 90% of people over…

Sensi.AI grabs $31M Series B from Insight, Zeev to monitor seniors 24/7

In the post-COVID world, VCs say it’s not as easy to get excited about investing in digital health. Deal activity in healthcare IT was relatively flat in Q1 2024 at…

10 of the most exciting digital health startups of 2024, according to VCs

A startup called EvolutionaryScale, founded by ex-Meta researchers, has raised $142 million for its AI-powered protein-generating tech.

EvolutionaryScale, backed by Amazon and Nvidia, raises $142M for protein-generating AI

Ashley Beckwith spent years of her academic and professional career focused on the intersection of biology, materials and manufacturing to build medical solutions more efficiently. When she realized the tech…

Foray Bioscience is breaking down the barriers of bringing biomanufacturing to plants

The firm said that it will source talent who can solve health problems like depression, cancer, eczema and neurodegenerative diseases.

H Venture Partners launches venture studio focused on microbiome tech

The Swiss startup has closed out its Series D at $116 million, which it will use to double down on working with companies operating in Asia and the U.S.

SkyCell nabs $59M more for its greener smart pharma transport containers

Rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts are surging among U.S. teens. A recent report from the Center of Disease Control found that nearly one in three girls have seriously…

Khosla-backed Marble, built by former Headway founders, offers affordable group therapy for teens

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How Abridge became one of the most talked about healthcare AI startups

Ask any of the health-focused VCs to name one of the top AI startups and one name comes up over and over again: a company  based in Pittsburgh called Abridge. And it’s a startup that launched before OpenAI was a household name and large language models (LLMs) entered the common…

How Abridge became one of the most talked about healthcare AI startups

Care/of, a company offering personalized subscription vitamin packs, says it will be canceling all subscriptions as of Monday, June 17 and will no longer be accepting new orders. The news…

Subscription vitamin company Care/of is shutting down

Tempus, a genomic testing and data analysis company started by Eric Lefkofsky, who previously founded Groupon, debuted on Nasdaq on Friday, rising about 15% on the opening.  The company priced…

Tempus rises 9% on the first day of trading, demonstrating investor appetite for a health tech with a promise of AI

For centuries, people chewed willow tree bark to relieve pain, but scientists at chemical firm Bayer didn’t isolate its active ingredient until the 1800s and eventually patented its modified version…

Enveda raises $55M to combine ancient remedies with AI for drug discovery

Venture fundraising has been a slog over the last few years, even for firms with a strong track record. That’s Foresite Capital’s experience. Despite having 47 IPOs, 28 M&As and…

Foresite Capital raises $900M sixth fund for investing in life sciences companies