Executive summary
After a period of caution, venture capital is once again flowing into digital health, with a laser focus on artificial intelligence. The first half of 2025 saw a significant recovery, with US digital health startups raising $6.4 billion and European health tech securing €6.21 billion. AI-native companies are capturing the lion's share of this capital, particularly in later-stage rounds (Rock Health, CB Insights, Galen Growth).
This trend is vividly illustrated by a series of major funding announcements. Heidi Health has secured a new Series B to scale its AI scribe in the NHS. OpenEvidence raised a massive $210 million Series B at a $3.5 billion valuation to expand its evidence-synthesis platform. Abridge has completed a sequence of mega-rounds, including a $300 million Series E, to deepen its EHR integrations. And Tortus secured a significant seed round to support its UK-based pilots. Amidst this frenzy of external capital, iatroX remains proudly bootstrapped (self-funded), offering an alternative growth thesis built on capital efficiency and deep alignment with clinician needs.
The funding climate: where the capital flowed in 2025
The data from 2024 and 2025 paints a clear picture: AI is the dominant theme in health tech investment.
- Global & US trends: While overall venture funding has become more selective, the average cheque size for successful companies is growing. AI-native health tools, particularly those demonstrating clear ROI, have dominated the later-stage funding rounds (Rock Health).
- Europe/UK rebound: European health tech funding saw a strong rebound in the first half of 2025. AI was the primary magnet for this capital, accounting for approximately 65% of the total value of deals (Galen Growth). The UK health tech sector remains a powerhouse, valued at around £32 billion (Sifted, UKTN).
Company spotlights (what the latest rounds signal)
Heidi (clinical documentation & workflow; UK/Australia → NHS)
- Round & valuation: Heidi Health secured a reported $65 million (~£48m) Series B in October 2025, led by Point72, reaching a post-money valuation of approximately £345 million (Sky News).
- Adoption signals: The company is successfully scaling within the UK primary care market, with numerous GP practice notices and Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) indicating live use across NHS surgeries.
- Takeaway: Investors are backing a proven "land-and-expand" strategy in the NHS, rewarding platforms that can demonstrate both user adoption and a clear narrative of compliance with UK governance.
OpenEvidence (evidence-aware AI search & agents; US, clinician-only)
- Round & valuation: OpenEvidence announced a $210 million Series B at a $3.5 billion valuation in July 2025, following a $75 million Series A earlier in the year (OpenEvidence).
- Strategic moat: A key part of its strategy is securing multi-year content deals with major publishers like the JAMA Network and NEJM. This creates a defensible "moat" by grounding its AI answers in gold-standard, licensed literature (Fierce Healthcare).
- Takeaway: The market is placing a massive premium on "provenance-first" clinical search. A defensible, ethically-sourced knowledge base is now a key differentiator.
Abridge (ambient AI for notes; US, EHR-integrated)
- Rounds: Abridge has seen a rapid succession of mega-rounds, including a $150 million Series C (Feb 2024), a $250 million Series D (Q1 2025), and a $300 million Series E (Jun 2025) (Fierce Healthcare, Rock Health).
- Go-to-market: Its primary strategy is deep integration into the Epic EHR, targeting both outpatient and inpatient workflows.
- Takeaway: Investors are underwriting a strategy of achieving massive scale via deep integration with the dominant EHR platforms, where the ROI can be measured in minutes saved and improved clinical throughput.
Tortus (UK, clinician assistant/ambient; seed stage)
- Round: Tortus raised a $4.2 million seed round led by Khosla Ventures in February 2024 (Digital Health).
- NHS focus: The company is focused on the UK market, running pilots with NHS organisations and building its brand around reducing the administrative burden on frontline clinicians (Tech.eu).
- Takeaway: Seed-stage investment is favouring companies with a clear NHS problem/benefit statement and a credible, compliance-ready roadmap from day one.
The iatroX alternative: the bootstrapped thesis
Amidst this landscape of large funding rounds, iatroX stands apart. We are proudly bootstrapped, meaning we have not taken any external venture capital funding. This is a deliberate strategic choice that we believe offers a different, more sustainable path to growth.
- Capital efficiency: We focus on building a lean, efficient organisation that is profitable and sustainable without relying on huge cash injections.
- Clinician alignment: Our product roadmap is driven exclusively by the needs of our users—the frontline UK clinicians and trainees who use our platform every day. We are not beholden to investor pressures for growth at all costs.
- Independence and integrity: Being bootstrapped gives us the freedom to iterate faster, build partnerships ethically, and always prioritise the integrity of our knowledge base. We believe that building trust with clinicians is the most valuable asset, and that is our primary focus.
What this means for founders and NHS buyers
For founders: a playbook you can lift
- Pick your moat: The market shows three winning strategies: secure exclusive content rights (OpenEvidence), win at deep workflow integration (Abridge), or achieve regulated medical device status.
- Publish your proof: Provide clear, measurable metrics (minutes per note, DNAs avoided) and transparent governance artefacts (like DPIAs) to build trust with buyers.
- Sequence your capital: Unless you choose the bootstrapped path, raise seed funding for real-world proof, a Series A for distribution, and later rounds to achieve category leadership.
For NHS buyers & policymakers
- Benchmark claims against peers: Use public funding announcements to gauge a company's maturity, market traction, and likely longevity.
- Procure for provenance and outcomes: Prioritise vendors that can demonstrate clear content rights, proven EHR workflow integration, and NHS-grade assurance artefacts. Route novel tools through structured evaluation programmes like the NHS's own pilot platforms.
FAQs
- Is the healthcare AI funding recovery real?
- Yes. The data from Rock Health and others shows that while the total number of deals may be lower than the peak, the cheque sizes for high-quality, AI-native companies are larger than ever.
- Why are these four companies getting so much attention?
- They clearly illustrate the dominant investment theses of 2025: the massive market for ambient scribing (Abridge, Heidi, Tortus) and the high value of evidence-aware, citation-first search (OpenEvidence).
- Where does iatroX fit into this?
- iatroX represents a bootstrapped, UK-centric alternative. We are focused on sustainable, revenue-funded growth, building a product that is deeply aligned with the specific needs of UK clinicians for guideline search, adaptive revision, and CPD.