DreamIt Ventures has announced the slate of nine healthtech startups entering its Baltimore accelerator—which is designed to speed the growth and success of early-stage health IT companies—as well as the addition of Kaiser Permanente as a strategic partner for the program.
Kaiser will join industry leaders Johns Hopkins University and Northrop Grumman Corporation, and economic development organization BioHealth Innovation as partners for the program.
The cohort of startups, recruited from around the world, will start a four-month startup bootcamp that includes seed capital, coaching from successful tech entrepreneurs, workspace, access to resources across leading healthcare organizations, and an intense curriculum at the intersection of healthcare, business, technology and design, DreamIt officials say.
The program is designed to help the companies rapidly find product-market fit, achieve key business milestones, and remove obstacles otherwise in the path of their success in delivering new products and services that target meaningful problems.
Kaiser Permanente, known for its successful blend of payer and provider organizations, and effective use of health IT, is the latest partner to join the DreamIt Health team. “We look forward to working with these very promising new healthcare technology companies where we can provide access to industry leading health professionals and a real world laboratory to test the usability and effectiveness of next generation technology solutions” Kim Horn, president, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the MidAtlantic states, said in a statement.
The companies were selected with an emphasis on those tackling significant problems, with sizable market opportunities, exceptional teams and demonstrated progress to date. Three of the companies hail from overseas, joining another from Pittsburgh and five more from Baltimore itself.