– Over these years, the Report has not only documented progress but has also played an active role in the development of these companies, supporting valuable partnerships and creating an ecosystem conducive to innovation. This year’s edition features as many as 170 wonderful Polish medical startups and 24 startups from the CEE region. The goal of the Report is not only to present innovations but also to provide valuable data supporting informed decision-making in the health sector. I see our Report as a source of inspiration and a tool for active support for innovative medical startups – indicates Karolina Kornowska, the main author of the Report and project manager of the AI in Health Coalition and the Polish Hospital Federation.
Statistics from the Top Disruptors in Healthcare Report:
In the technology sector, AI and machine learning play a key role, chosen by 64% of medical startups (108 respondents). The rapid growth of interest in these technologies, from 30% in the first edition of the report to 64% in the fifth, reflects their growing importance in the digitalization of healthcare.
The biggest challenge for Polish medical startups is finding an investor or obtaining financing, indicated by 50% of respondents. Foreign expansion and the promotion and sale of solutions also constitute significant barriers, indicated by 40% and 37% of startups, respectively. Collaboration with the public sector remains a challenge for 31% of startups, highlighting the need for better integration of innovation with the public healthcare system. Issues related to acquiring competent employees and creating business models are less problematic, indicated by 7% of startups.
The most frequently chosen target users are doctors and other medical professionals (66%) and healthcare entities (65%). Patients constitute 59% of target users, emphasizing the importance of direct health solutions available to patients. Healthcare entities are also the most important final paying customer for medical startups (62%), suggesting that medical facilities remain a reliable source of income for innovative companies. The share of patients as paying customers, although decreasing, still constitutes a significant group of final customers (40%).
The data shows that medical startups most often establish cooperation with medical facilities (2nd edition – 70%, 3rd edition – 63%, 4th edition – 62%, 5th edition – 73%). The increase in cooperation in the fifth edition after previous declines underscores the growing importance of direct engagement of clinics and hospitals in the development of innovative solutions. Such close cooperation is essential for testing, implementing, and scaling new technologies in medicine. As indicated by
The review “AI is not Sci-Fi” published by the Polish Hospital Federation in cooperation with the AI in Health Coalition and the wZdrowiu expert team, medical innovations, including solutions developed by startups, are already being implemented in some hospitals and are bringing benefits in practice. The current increase in cooperation suggests that more medical facilities recognize the positives stemming from the use of innovation in the healthcare sector. However, a very unfavorable phenomenon is the significant decrease in cooperation with investors (2nd edition – 52%, 3rd edition – 42%, 4th edition – 32%, 5th edition – 20%).
Regarding the development stages of startups, 14% are at the Proof of Concept (PoC) stage, which is the lowest percentage in the five-year history of the market study. This decline suggests that more companies have already moved to more advanced stages. 25% chose the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) stage, and 31% are at the commercialization stage, which represents an increase compared to previous editions, indicating market maturation and greater readiness to generate revenue. Stability at the growth stage has remained at 30% in the last two editions, showing that many startups are focusing on scaling operations and expanding into new markets.
Most medical startups (51%) were founded by mixed teams, reflecting diversity and openness to different perspectives. However, only 4% of startups were founded exclusively by women, while 44% were founded exclusively by men. This shows that there are still certain gender inequalities in entrepreneurship, which can be reduced by supporting and promoting female entrepreneurship.
Regarding the financing of Polish medical startups, it is worth noting that the share of the founder’s own funds remains high, and it is also the most frequently chosen answer by startups (58%). The second most popular source of funding is private investors (36%). A clear decrease can be observed in financing from domestic VCs (4th edition – 34%, 5th edition – 24%), which may indicate difficulties in accessing domestic funds. Regarding the current level of funding, most startups declare it to be below EUR 200,000 (37%).
There is also a high percentage of startups planning international expansion, which indicates developmental ambitions and the pursuit of increasing the scale of operations and revenues by reaching new customers abroad – over half of the startups (59%) are not yet present in foreign markets but plan to enter these markets in the future.
– Polish medical startups show great dynamism and innovation, responding to the key needs of the modern medical sector. Despite numerous challenges, they have enormous potential for further development and introducing breakthrough solutions to the market that can significantly improve the quality of healthcare – adds Karolina Kornowska.
The Top Disruptors in Healthcare Report was published during the AI & MEDTECH CEE Conference and is available on the website: https://aiwzdrowiu.pl/raport-tdih/
We also invite you to purchase the extended version by emailing: biuro@aiwzdrowiu.pl