These are the 9 healthcare startups next in line to go public, according to bankers and investors

Kyle Armbrester, CEO of Datavant. Bankers and investors identified Datavant as a potential IPO candidate.DatavantHinge Health and Omada Health sparked fresh hope for digital health IPOs after their strong debuts.Some top startups are now preparing for IPOs in 2026 as market uncertainties remain.These are the 9 digital health startups that could knock on the IPO door next.After a long drought, digital health is finally seeing signs of life in the public markets.In May, physical therapy startup Hinge Health became the first digital health startup to go public in years. Two weeks later, diabetes-focused Omada Health followed with its own IPO.Both Hinge and Omada saw their shares jump on debut, signaling that investors might be warming up to new digital health public listings. That's welcome news for the late-stage healthcare startups that have been stuck in IPO limbo since the last window slammed shut in 2022.To get a better sense of which digital health startups might go public next, Business Insider spoke with half a dozen bankers and investors. Those people requested anonymity to speak freely about potential IPO candidates.The reopening appears more like a crack than a floodgate. Bankers told Business Insider in June that many late-stage healthcare companies are now eyeing IPOs in 2026 or later, due in part to continued market uncertainties.Some startups are pushing their plans even further out, including Sword Health, a close rival to Hinge Health. CEO Virgilio Bento told TechCrunch last year that a 2025 IPO was a possibility for Sword. But in June, he told the publication his preferred IPO timeline was "maybe 2028.""We believe market conditions currently lack the stability needed for an IPO to be the kind of accelerator we're looking for," Bento said in a statement to BI.Whether or not startups decide to take the plunge this year, though, Barclays' head of Americas equity capital markets Rob Stowe told BI in June that Hinge Health's and Omada Health's IPOs send positive signals for the IPO market."The market is pretty robust. It's not going to be for all companies, but conditions feel as strong as I've seen them in a while," he said.Here are 9 healthcare startups that could be knocking on the IPO door next, in alphabetical order.AledadeAledade CEO Dr. Farzad Mostashari.Tom Sandner for InsiderHealthcare startup Aledade could be an important proof point for the public markets on the viability of value-based care enablement technologies, bankers and investors told BI.Founded in 2014 by former national coordinator for health IT Dr. Farzad Mostashari, Aledade sells data-driven software to independent primary care practices to help them deliver value-based care, improving patient outcomes while lowering costs. The company has steadily grown its presence across Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance programs, now working with over 2,400 practices to support 3 million patients.To date, Aledade has raised about $660 million in funding from investors like Lightspeed Venture Partners and Venrock, most recently grabbing a $260 million Series F round in June 2023. The company didn't share its valuation at the time.Aledade said in 2022 that it had been bringing in more earnings than losses, before subtracting for expenses like taxes, for the past two years. In 2023, after its Series F raise, the company said it brought in $475 million in revenue the previous year. Its high revenue and apparent profitability could help position the company for an IPO, although the company will have to differentiate itself from prior value-based care tech listings such as Agilon Health and Privia Health, which have seen their shares decline on the public markets since their 2021 IPOs."Aledade is focused on building our business and doing what is good for patients, practices and society, as well as for shareholders, consistent with our public benefit mission. An initial public offering in the future is always possible, based on timing, conditions and financial needs," said Aledade senior VP of communications Julie Bataille in a statement to BI. "However, we don't comment on specific plans and remain focused on the important work of advancing efforts to support independent primary care organizations and their success in value-based care."DatavantKyle Armbrester, CEO of Datavant.DatavantHealth data startup Datavant has been deal hunting this year, and its acquisition spree could hint at a coming IPO.Datavant, which manages patient data exchanges between providers, payers, and life sciences organizations, spun out of Vivek Ramaswamy's Roivant Sciences in 2017. Datavant last shared its valuation when it merged with Ciox Health in June 2021 in a $7 billion deal, giving it the highest valuation of the startups on this list.In the past year, Datavant has made four acquisitions, most recently buying health records retrieval company Ontellus in June. Datavant previous acquired venture-backed real-world-evidence startup Aetion in May, and picked up data privacy organization Trace Data and two data analytics products from healthcare AI startup Apixio in September.Private equity firm New Mountain Capital is Datavant's controlling shareholder. Flare Capital Partners' Parth Desai told Business Insider in December that he expects private-equity-backed healthcare companies to make tuck-in acquisitions in 2025 as they look ahead to potential IPOs in 2026."With New Mountain Capital's support as a longtime shareholder that is bullish on our business, we are fortunate to have flexibility as we continue to grow and diversify for our clients," said Datavant CEO Kyle Armbrester in an email to BI. "If market conditions are right, and there's a need for cash to continue to grow the business, a public offering is a potential option we would consider in the future."Lyra HealthLyra Health's app.Lyra HealthFounded in 2015, Lyra Health is the highest valued startup in mental health. The company was last valued at $5.58 billion in January 2022, when it raised $235 million in Series G funding.The startup provides mental health services to employers like Morgan Stanley and Zoom, aiming to help clients save thousands of dollars in healthcare claims with its evidence-based treatment. Newly public Hinge Health and Omada Health also contract with employers with similar cost-cutting aims, and their public market debuts could bring Lyra's IPO prospects into focus.In December, Lyra Health said its cofounder, David Ebersman, would transition from the role of CEO to board chairman following the death of his son in 2024. Jennifer Schulz, most recently the CEO of Experian's North American division, joined Lyra as its new CEO.Bankers said Schulz's experience in a leadership role at publicly traded Experian could be a boon to Lyra, though the startup may wait until she's further settled in the role to accelerate IPO plans.Lyra has raised more than $900 million in funding to date from investors including Dragoneer, Coatue, and Salesforce Ventures.Lyra declined to comment for this story.MedlineMedline is a long-standing healthcare company, not a startup. But its IPO could make waves across the industry.Medline was founded in 1966 to manufacture and sell medical supplies to hospitals and clinics. In December, it said it had confidentially filed its S-1 to go public.Bankers told BI that Medline's IPO would be an important example for the markets of private equity buying a healthcare company and taking it public at a premium. Blackstone, Carlyle, and Hellman & Friedman acquired Medline in 2021 for $34 billion. Reuters reported in December that Medline's IPO could raise over $5 billion and value the company at up to $50 billion.However, President Donald Trump's shifting tariffs policies could force Medline to delay its public market debut further. Robert Stowe, head of Americas equity capital markets at Barclays, told BI in June that public investors are sensitive to businesses that could be exposed to tariffs. Medline manufactures many products in China, which has been aggressively targeted by Trump's tariff proposals.Medline didn't respond to requests for comment for this story.Maven ClinicMaven founder and CEO Kate Ryder.MavenMaven, which provides care for women and families through employers and health plans, could provide critical evidence for the market viability of women's health companies with a potential IPO.Founded in 2014, Maven is backed by leading VC firms including General Catalyst, Sequoia, and Oak HC/FT. The company last raised $125 million in Series F funding in October, led by the private equity firm StepStone Group at a $1.7 billion valuation. The raise boosted Maven's total funding to over $425 million.The company now says it works with over 2,000 employers and health plans to provide fertility benefits, maternity care, menopause support, and related care.Investors previously told BI that Maven's IPO, if successful, could help validate the women's health sector for investors and pave the way for more women's health startups to raise funding and find exits.Maven's strongest signal of its IPO ambitions can be found in its C-Suite. In the first half of the year, the company hired multiple executives with experience guiding companies through public listings.BI reported in October that Maven let go of its chief financial officer to bring in a new CFO with public market experience. The company said in June it had hired Katie Rooney as its CFO, who previously served as CFO and COO at Alight Solutions through its divestiture from Blackstone-owned Aon Hewitt and its public listing in 2021 via SPAC merger.Maven also said it had hired a new chief commercial officer, chief legal and administrative officer, and chief communications officer. Maven's new chief legal and administrative officer, Susan Stick, most recently served as general counsel at Life360, leading the company through its 2024 IPO.Maven declined to comment for this story.Spring HealthApril Koh is the cofounder and chief executive officer of Spring Health.Spring HealthSpring Health has long sought to separate itself from the pack with its AI-powered approach to precision mental healthcare.Spring Health's algorithms help tailor care plans to an individual's needs, with various types of care provided through its app, such as coaching therapy, psychiatry, and meditation exercises. The company sells its services to employers including Microsoft, Pfizer, and the Coca-Cola Company, as well as health plans.The Tiger Global-backed startup raised $100 million in Series E funding in July 2024 at a $3.3 billion valuation. According to PitchBook, Spring Health has raised about $466 million since its 2016 founding.As AI takes off in digital health, Spring says it's embedded AI in its electronic health record system, its patient app, and its real-time analytics for employers. The startup has also expanded the range of its mental health services over the years, most recently digging deeper into pediatric care and support for substance use disorders.Per Rock Health, mental health was the top-funded clinical indication in 2024 for the sixth year straight, with mental health startups bringing in $1.4 billion last year. Despite high fundraising levels, however, the sector hasn't seen an IPO since 2021. Bankers said Spring Health and Lyra Health are consistently discussed as the most likely two candidates for the next mental health public listings.Spring Health didn't respond to requests for comment for this story.TranscarentTranscarent CEO Glen Tullman.TranscarentTranscarent contracts with employers to provide health navigation and virtual care to employees. The startup looks a lot closer to an exit after a big acquisition earlier this year.The startup bought the public health benefits company Accolade in a $621 million deal that closed in April. The acquisition looks to have significantly increased Transcarent's customer base and thus made a big contribution to its top line — before the Transcarent deal, Accolade said it contracted with over 1,400 employers and health plans, and the company reported $414 million in revenue in the fiscal year 2024. Now, with Accolade on board, Transcarent says it works with over 1,700 employers and health plans. Transcarent hasn't publicly shared its revenue.The Accolade acquisition was financed by Transcarent investors including General Catalyst and CEO Glen Tullman's 62 Ventures, cash on Transcarent's balance sheet, and debt provided by JP Morgan. Transcarent has raised about $450 million since its 2020 founding, including $126 million in a Series D funding round in May 2024 at a $2.2 billion valuation.Tullman has by far the most experience with taking companies public of the CEOs on this list. Before Transcarent, he led three companies through public listings — Livongo, Allscripts, and Enterprise Systems. His success with Livongo, the diabetes care company he founded, stands out as a rare example of blockbuster digital health returns; Livongo went public in 2019 at a $2.5 billion valuation, before being acquired by Teladoc the next year for $18.5 billion, at the time the biggest deal ever in the digital health market.That experience could set Transcarent up to pursue an IPO when market conditions look favorable. Tullman told MedCity News in May 2024 that he had "no interest" in selling the company, but would consider an IPO in the future.Transcarent will have to separate itself from previous care navigation IPOs, however, including Health Catalyst, whose stock has declined more than 85% since its 2019 IPO. It'll also need to contend with Accolade's cash burn, since the health benefits company reported a net loss of $100 million in the fiscal year 2024.In a statement to BI, Tullman said Transcarent is focused on integrating its solutions to bring its AI-powered platform, called WayFinding, to more members and employers to make healthcare more accessible and affordable."At Transcarent, our priority is meeting the needs of our Members and delivering measurable results for our clients. If we do those things well, the rest will follow," Tullman said.Virta HealthSami Inkinen, cofounder and CEO of Virta Health.Virta HealthOmada Health's June IPO could set up diabetes care peer Virta Health to follow in its footsteps.Founded in 2014, Virta Health made its name in virtual diabetes care, helping patients reverse type 2 diabetes through personalized, low-carb nutrition plans. It's expanding quickly into obesity treatment and added GLP-1 prescriptions like Ozempic for weight loss in January. The company previously prescribed GLP-1s only for diabetes.CEO Sami Inkinen told Business Insider in January that Virta was bringing in over $100 million in annual recurring revenue, up 60% from the year before. He said he expected even faster growth in 2025, driven by surging demand for Virta's weight-loss care."An IPO is the next milestone for us," Inkinen said at the time. He declined to provide details on Virta's potential IPO timing, but said the company wants to be profitable before it braves the public markets.Virta was last valued at $2 billion in 2021, when it raised $133 million in Series E funding led by Tiger Global. Inkinen said in January that Virta would be profitable by the end of 2025.In a conversation with BI at the end of June, Inkinen declined to share specifics about a potential Virta IPO or a likely timeline for its public listing. However, he said it's always been his plan for Virta to be an independent public company, adding that Virta is tracking towards that goal.Inkinen said Virta's growth rate is accelerating and that the company is ahead of its financial targets for the year. He's not stressing about timing the market, he said."The very best investor relations is fantastic financials. If you have those as a company, that's the best marketing before IPO, and for the IPO and beyond. Build a great business, and the rest will take care of itself," he said.ZelisZelis was started 30 years ago under the name Stratose, later merging with GlobalCare and Pay-Plus Solutions to create Zelis Healthcare. The company now sells healthtech software to payers and providers to manage medical claims and process electronic payments.Bankers told Business Insider that Zelis's business is stable with strong economics that could position it well for an IPO.Zelis's profile isn't too dissimilar from Waystar, a private-equity-backed healthcare payments company that went public in June 2024 with an initial market cap of about $3.5 billion. Since then, Waystar's stock has risen about 88%, and as of late June, the company boasts a $6.7 billion market cap. That success could set Zelis up to follow in Waystar's footsteps.Zelis announced it had sold a minority stake for an undisclosed price in December, led by Mubadala Capital and including Norwest and HarbourVest. The recent capital raise could push Zelis's IPO back if the company doesn't see a significant financial benefit to going public, bankers said.Zelis declined to comment for this story.Read the original article on Business Insider

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He lost half his vision to glaucoma. Now he's using AI to help spot disease — but he says tech will never replace doctors.