Heated startup race is on to capture AI-driven APAC healthcare

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) ecosystem in healthcare has grown in the recent past, as companies are looking to capitalise on the benefits provided by AI to improve patient outcomes and enable convenient, cost-effective access to healthcare solutions. In addition to the significant increase in digital penetration and internet connectivity, favourable government policies (e.g., China, Thailand and the Philippines) have been key driving factors of growth in health-tech startups across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. AI in the APAC healthcare market is set to grow substantially due to increasing investments by Venture Capitalists in AI healthcare startups, cross-industry partnerships and collaborations.

- Apoorva Bajaj

AI is being used by health-tech startups for various applications within the healthcare domain such as Patient Data Analytics, Medical Imaging, Lifestyle Monitoring, Drug Discovery, Vaccine Trials , Virtual Assistants, Wearables, Health-records, Mental Health & Wellness, and Robot-Assisted Surgery, Dosage Error Reduction among others. Medical Imaging based on Deep Learning Neural Networks (a sub-field of AI) can be used in diagnosing diseases with the help of historical data. AI can also be used in detecting cancerous tissues and diagnosing certain chronic heart diseases.

APAC lags in VC funding

In terms of total venture capital (VC) funding received by healthcare startups across the globe, North American startups accounted for approximately 60 per cent, followed by APAC startups with approximately 25 per cent; and European & Middle East and North Africa (MENA) startups with approximately 15 per cent of the total funding. In 2020, VC funding for APAC startups had increased by around 37 per cent Year over Year (YoY).

In 2020, within the healthcare domain for APAC-based startups, the Diagnostics sub-sector received around 20 per cent of the total funding; e-Marketplace received 15 per cent; followed by Insurance Tech and Nutrition & Wellness sub-sector with 10 per cent of the total VC funding.