Skip to content Skip to sidebar Skip to footer
Menu
Menu
Funding News

This Des Moines venture fund is investing in early-stage healthcare companies

July 28, 2021

For the past two years, UnityPoint Health Ventures—the venture capital arm of UnityPoint Health—has been investing in early-stage health care companies.

Founded in May 2019 with an initial $100 million fund, the Des Moines-based venture firm makes direct investments in healthcare companies and helps them scale and deploy their technologies across UnityPoint Health hospitals and clinics.

To date, the fund has invested in 12 companies. The fund is about its halfway point and will likely invest in 24 to 26 companies total, says Matthew Warrens, Managing Director of Innovation at Unity Point Health. Of the firm’s first $100 million fund, $60 million will be used for first check money and $40 million will be used for follow-on investing.

“For us, it’s the strategic fit that determines more than anything,” said Warrens. “So you will see us invest from as early as seed round to as late as a B or C round. Because there might be a more strategic value than what the potential financial value could be.”

The fund has invested in one Iowa-based company, VIDA Diagnostics, a company that has developed LungPrint, an AI-powered suite of products and services used to uniquely profile and manage those with, or at-risk of, lung diseases.

“That [VIDA] has been a really good investment for us. We have that deployed an almost all of our major markets and it’s been really well adopted and scaled well,” said Warrens.

“It’s really more important to us to get returns on the strategic side. So, if we invest a million dollars and double our money to $2 million, that’s great. But if we deployed whatever that product or service was, and we’ve decreased the total cost of care by $10 million a year for the next five years, that’s what we’re really trying to do,” said Warrens.

In addition to direct investing, UnityPoint Health Ventures also provides dedicated resources to accelerate portfolio company traction within UnityPoint Health and beyond.

“I think that’s a big differentiator for us, that we have a dedicated team that partners with our clinical champions and our clinical leaders across the organization to test and scale these solutions,” said Matthews. “And in addition to that, we take an active role in governance, with the companies that we invest in, help them with their go-to-market strategy and their sales strategy.”

Previous Coverage

Vida Diagnostics receives $1 million investment from UnityPoint Health Ventures -July 25, 2019

UnityPoint Health launches $100 million venture fund -May 23, 2019

Tags:
This Des Moines venture fund is investing in early-stage healthcare companies | Clay & Milk
A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.
This Pop-up Is Included in the Theme
Best Choice for Creatives
Purchase Now