Philips, Nvidia, IBM, Road2, Margalit Startup City Haifa, the Israel Innovation Authority, the Rambam Medical Center, Clalit Health Services, and additional partners have joined forces to lead Startup City Haifa, the Digital Health Accelerator.
The program is dedicated to scaling up startups operating in the digital health domain and is based on collaboration among international companies, investors, health organizations, academic and medical institutions, and leading consulting entities, working in tandem with established companies in the field.
Through a comprehensive approach encompassing mentorship, lectures, workshops, investment opportunities, and tailored support, the program empowers these startups with the necessary resources to expedite their growth and create a significant impact in digital health. By fostering innovation and providing guidance, the initiative aims to revolutionize the healthcare landscape, ensuring a future where advanced digital health solutions are accessible, efficient, and transformative for people worldwide.
By providing mentorship, lectures, workshops, investment opportunities, and tailored support, the program equips these startups with the resources they need to accelerate their growth and impact the field of digital health.
Welcoming the initiative, Erel Margalit, chairman and founder of the JVP and Margalit Startup City, told the Jerusalem Post, “The global health system is looking for the technologies that will enable accessible and advanced medicine. The world’s great challenge has created an opportunity for Israeli high-tech to lead the world’s next great initiatives. We are witnessing the growth of Israeli startups that have developed groundbreaking technologies and are changing the way medicine can be accessible to everyone, anywhere, anytime. It’s exciting to see how Haifa, the mixed city, is establishing an important ecosystem infrastructure in the field of digital health. Israel has become a world leader in digital health and brings breakthrough technologies that make the health system more accessible to anyone, anywhere, and in real-time.”
Lior Bonfis, President of Philips Israel, added his endorsement. “I am delighted about the upcoming second cycle of the Haifa Accelerator and Philips Israel collaboration with JVP’s Margalit Startup City, which allows us to focus and promote digital health innovation,” he said. “As a company with a vision to improve the lives of 2.5 billion people per year by 2030, through meaningful innovation, Philips recognizes the added and substantial value of Israeli innovation in medical technology in achieving this goal.”
The new cycle of startups is not only building on the success of the last round but breaking new ground in innovation and creativity. Yaakov Diminsky, CEO at Road2 Haifa, explained, “The previous cycle of the program set a high bar for the selection of the companies and partners in the program in the current cycle. We are proud of the selected companies – all of which have tremendous potential and breakthrough technologies – certainly against the background of the challenging period. The accelerator is an important pillar in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Haifa and the north of the country, which is gaining momentum, and I am sure that we will continue to enjoy the fruits of the strong partnership between Road2 and Margalit Startup City Haifa, not only at the regional level but also on the international stage.”
Mike Rimon and Doron Stern, partners at Meitar Law Firm, speaking to the Jerusalem Post, said that the initiative and partnership with organizations like JVP allowed them to further “provide support to entrepreneurs and startups developing technologies in the field of digital health, in order to strengthen Israel’s position as a leader in the field, and also to make the health system accessible to all of us.”
Gali Timor, director of Margalit Startup City Haifa, stressed the potential to impact the digital health industry globally. “I am proud to lead the activities of the accelerator for digital health, the spearhead of Margalit Startup City Haifa. Precisely against the background of the period, which is characterized by social and economic instability, it was important for us to implement this cycle, which is an excellent example of Israel’s abilities and Haifa, in particular, to initiate and innovate in the field of health technologies. The chosen ventures will promote a good future for all of us, while creating international and multi-sector collaborations,” she said.
Who is taking part?
- PrediMed: A software platform that personalizes the medical procedure in children undergoing MRI scans with the goal of eliminating unnecessary anesthesia.
- Calodar: Calodar tracks inpatient food intake, providing on-time diagnosis and alerts for cases of hospital malnutrition.
- RespirAI: With a mission to empower patients and care providers in effectively managing chronic health conditions, RespirAI Medical’s home monitoring, AI-based platform manages chronic respiratory disease.
- MICA AI Medical: Collaborating with The Sheba Medical Center and ARC, MICA leverages cutting-edge Machine Vision Technology to create software for the early detection of breast cancer.
- Reflect Innovation: Reflect brings biofeedback therapy to the home, in a personalized, self-service, clinic-grade experience through the Reflect Orb, an award-winning physical product, and the Reflect app.
- ThermoMind: ThermoMind provides highly accurate and reliable imaging technologies to help doctors and medical professionals make more informed decisions about patient care.
- IMMA: IMMA Health, a women-led venture, is a medical device and AI-powered image analysis company focused on developing a comprehensive solution for an at-home transvaginal ultrasound automated self-scanning system in women’s health.
- SimHawk: An ultrasound telemedicine cloud-based platform that allows analysis of real-life cases leveraging machine learning capabilities for reliable AI and cost-effective ultrasound diagnostic solutions.
