#Twenty25 - Funding the future of health tech - Part 6/20 Interview with Dietrich Aumann, Helsana HealthInvest

Ian Coyne: So, Dietrich, in terms of the interview, let's think about it in three horizons. Starting with 2025, from your perspective, where do you think the most interesting investments will be in health tech?

Dietrich Aumann: I believe the excitement around AI, particularly language, multimodal and action models, will continue. However, I'm sceptical about its applicability in European healthcare due to its national and technological fragmentation, overall digital maturity and uncertainty around the EU AI Act. The US has a more mature health data infrastructure, which supports rapid growth in clinical AI use cases. Therefore, while AI will attract investments and there definitely are use cases for AI in European healthcare, our focus will likely remain on tech-enabled services.

Ian: Looking beyond 2025, what other interesting themes or directions do you foresee in health tech?

Dietrich: One significant development would be Switzerland accepting FDA-approved devices in parallel to European MDR. This definitely has an impact on the health system in Switzerland, but also Swiss and European companies in their choice of which regulatory path and markets to choose first.

More fundamentally, we will continue to see the rise of business models at the fringes of OOP and reimbursed treatments in Europe. This is particularly true for indications that are underserved, misdiagnosed or where patients feel misunderstood by the systems as they operate today– GLP-1 and obesity treatments come to mind, or women’s health.

Ian: Do you think patients or customers are getting smarter about health?

Dietrich Aumann: Yes, generally. Doctor Google is widely accepted now and being replaced by Doctor GPT. People are taking more time to educate themselves about their health, both in prevention as well as in treatments. This is where this OOP market opportunity is, but there’s also a risk of self-education turning into superstition - especially where the system fails to address the concerns of the individual patient, either by not being available at all or by not giving any satisfactory treatment options.

Ian: Why do you think tech companies haven't fully entered the health space?

Dietrich: Tech is built on “making something people want”, and it’s highly aligned with desirability- it’s entertainment, it’s instantly gratifying. This, in its own way, shapes behavior, but is completely at odds with how companies in digital health operate. Health requires behavior change but mostly, there’s no immediate reward, and it’s all rather aspirational – I “should” do these exercises, I “should” do 10k a day, I “should” do a diary, and then, maybe, I’ll live a bit longer or feel a bit less pain. Add to that the geographic fragmentation, regulatory issues - why would big tech bother to go all-in?

Ian: If you had a magic wand, what would you change to accelerate health tech or its adoption?

Dietrich: As basic as it sounds, I would love to see tech-driven personalized care for everyone. Imagining a true health companion that takes in your entire biological make-up – we see lots of full body-MRI or blood testing companies in B2C now, but once you’ve done all that, what’s next? I’d like to see these kinds of diagnostics combined with personalized advice and treatment.

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Dietrich Aumann, Investment Manager at Helsana HealthInvest

Investment Manager for Helsana HealthInvest, the CVC we've set up at Swiss health insurance Helsana. We're actively deploying in 2024, doing Series A deals across Europe. We're looking for companies that have a realistic shot at increasing access to care, quality of care or efficiency in care delivery at scale - and in Switzerland.

Before becoming a VC, I built new products and businesses in startups & corporates across Automotive, Marketplaces & Telco.

About Helsana HealthInvest