There were 110 digital health acquisitions in 2018, a slight drop from the 120 acquisitions reported one year prior, according to a Rock Health report.
Rock Health, a seed fund focused on digital health startups, reviewed the 368 digital health deals completed in 2018 for its year-end report. Investors poured $8.1 billion into digital health startups in 2018, up 42 percent from 2017's landmark year of $5.7 billion in funding, according to its findings.
One of the questions Rock Health sought to answer in its report was how startups exit the market.
"[Mergers and acquisitions] remains the dominant exit strategy, but has been slightly declining for the past three years, with 110 acquisitions in 2018," the report reads. "Digital health companies continue to be the most prolific group of acquirers of other digital health companies. We believe this signals a trend toward consolidation in the next few years."
Here were the most common types of businesses to acquire digital health companies in 2018:
1. Digital health company: 54 percent
2. Private equity: 7 percent
2. Technology company: 7 percent
4. Provider: 3 percent
Twenty-nine percent of digital health companies were acquired by payers, biopharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers or other businesses Rock Health included in an "other" category.
To access Rock Health's report, click here.