Health care has long been a super power in Minnesota. For decades, the industry's startup scene has easily beat out others in terms of both the number of deals and the amount of funding received.
Last year, Minnesota produced its first unicorn startup, Bright Health. The company secured $635 million in a Series D round of funding, likely the largest venture capital raise in Minnesota history. The previous holder of that record? Bright Health. And prior to that? Also Bright Health.
If another unicorn comes out of Minnesota in the next few years, it's likely that it will be from the health care field. So what startups should we keep an eye on?
Below are 10 of the most well-funded health care tech companies in the region. Cumulative funding numbers are estimates based on available CrunchBase data. The companies are all private and have not been acquired.
Bright Health
Total VC funding: $1.08 billion
Minneapolis-based Bright Health is the state's first unicorn. Its $635 million funding round in December is believed to be the largest venture capital round raised by a Minnesota company. Bright Health provides health insurance to clients by partnering with a system in each new market. The company calls these “personalized care networks” and through them offers individual, family and Medicare Advantage plans.
CVRx
Total VC funding: $340.6 million
CVRx is a medical device company developing implantable technology for the treatment of high blood pressure. Recently, the company raised $17.65 million, one of the largest VC rounds of 2019, according to the Biz Journal.
Relievant Medsystems
Total VC funding: $153.6 million
Relievant is a relatively new arrival to the Twin Cities med-tech scene. The company moved its headquarters here from Sunnyvale, Calif., in 2018 after tapping local executive Kevin Hykes to serve as its CEO. Founded in 2006, Relievant makes technology that aims to treat lower back pain by destroying a nerve embedded in vertebrae.
Nuvaira
Total VC funding: $151.6 million
Nuvaira raised the second-largest funding round of 2019, bringing in $79 million. The company develops medical technology to treat lung diseases.
Respicardia
Total VC funding: $149.1 million
Founded in 2006, Respicardia develops implantable therapies to improve respiratory and cardiovascular health. It last raised a round of funding in late 2017.
Bind
Total VC funding: $142.5 million
Founded in 2016, Bind offers an "on-demand" health insurance model that allows members to opt into coverage for specific treatments only when they need those treatments. The company saw a seven-fold membership increase from the start of 2019 to the start of 2020, the Biz Journal reports. It has around 65,000 members and customers including Target, UnitedHealth and Best Buy.
Monteris Medical
Total VC funding: $129.1 million
Monteris had one of the state's largest funding rounds in both 2018 and 2019, according to the Biz Journal. The company develops new technologies to treat cancer.
Histosonics
Total VC funding: $126.8 million
Histosonics, another cancer-fighting startup, specializes in histotripsy, a non-invasive method of destroying body tissue using sonic waves. Its Edison device uses real-time visualization technology to destroy cancerous tumors while keeping healthy tissue safe.
NeoChord
Total VC funding: $78.5 million
St. Louis Park-based NeoChord creates a device to treat patients suffering from mitral valve regurgitation, a condition that can cause blood to flow backward into the heart. The company has created artificial tendons and an accompanying device that secures heart valves in place.
Recombinetics
Total VC funding: $67.9 million
Recombinetics uses gene-editing technology to customize animals for the agribusiness and biomedical markets, using a technique called TALENs that was co-developed by researchers at the University of Minnesota.
