Optum Startup Studio India launches first cohort

Gurgaon: Optum Global Solutions (India), in partnership with International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIITH), has launched its first Optum Startup Studio India cohort. The cohort consists of five health care startups.

MedTel’s remote patient monitoring platform offers embedded real-time data analytics for providers and members, helping them improve disease and chronic condition management and overall population health management. Their health kit includes platform-integrated Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled devices.

Grailmaker Innovations’ Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled Software-as-a-Service app allows pre-emptive interventions to lower the cost of care and improve health outcomes for children with cortical visual impairment (CVI).

Daffodil Health’s pediatric behavioral health platform provides accessible and affordable services at home for children with developmental delays and conditions.

Nemocare offers an IoT-enabled wearable device that enables innovative, affordable, accessible, and highly accurate medical-grade monitoring solutions for newborn babies, helping to avoid unnecessary hospitalizations.

BWell Health has developed a contactless health monitoring/screening tool that uses smartphone camera and AI algorithms to track and monitor key vitals to help patients, providers, and payers avoid unnecessary health care utilization and costs.

Optum Startup Studio, part of Optum and UnitedHealth Group, aims to identify innovative ideas and startups that can help accelerate value delivery by seeking solutions to some of health care’s most pressing challenges. As part of the program, Optum provides selected startups with mentorship across their early-stage needs, including technology, business strategy, design, and product development, along with an equity-free grant of $25,000. Concurrently, IIITH leverages its deep tech research capabilities and experience in incubating startups to provide the cohort with research and business mentorship.

“At Optum, we are developing the technology to help modernize, streamline, and simplify the health system by connecting people and information through the technology of the future.” said Paul Nielsen, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, Optum.

“We believe that new collaborations and innovations with early-stage organizations are vital to our efforts to drive large-scale health care transformation that puts consumers and patients at the center. India has a vibrant startup ecosystem, with a great potential to create digital health solutions that can help make the health system work better for everyone.”

Ankit Gupta, Senior Director, Optum Startup Studio, Optum Global Solutions (India), added, “With Optum Startup Studio’s first cohort launch, we take another step toward technology-enabled solutions that address health care’s hardest challenges. Through the six months of the cohort, we will work closely with selected startups and coach them on various aspects of value delivery through targeted workshops, peer learning and guidance customized to their business requirements.”

Ramesh Loganathan, Professor, Co-Innovation/Outreach, IIIT Hyderabad, said “Our partnership with Optum Startup Studio India combines the best of health care expertise at Optum and IIIT Hyderabad’s deep tech capabilities to enable our cohort to refine their product roadmap, achieve scale and contribute toward building a robust health care ecosystem.”

United Health Group has long recognized the importance of innovation in health care and opportunity in supporting startups tackling complex health care challenges. Toward that goal, several UnitedHealth Group businesses maintain accelerator programs internationally to help new companies fine-tune their approach and gain market perspective.