Amazon Web Services has partnered with Chicago startup incubator Matter to bring foreign healthcare companies to the U.S. and help them with strategy, technology and scaling their operations.
The AWS Expand program initially plans to host 30 startups for three months this summer for mentorship, connections with potential customers and invitations to forums with healthcare leaders covering such topics as FDA approval, intellectual property and reimbursement. An additional eight companies will take part in an eight-week incubator with more customer introductions capped by presentations to industry stakeholders.
"The U.S. healthcare industry is different from other local healthcare markets. Its nuances and intricacies require a distinct knowledge base," Matter CEO Steven Collens said in a June 23 news release from his company. "As a global healthcare incubator headquartered in Chicago, Matter will help these startups adopt the right lens that will be critical to their success in the U.S."
The initiative will focus on companies from Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "AWS is committed to helping healthcare startups across the globe find new opportunities and scale their businesses, and that often means expanding beyond their own borders," stated Jared Saul, MD, global lead for healthcare and life sciences startups and investors at Amazon Web Services.
Applications for the two programs open in July, and the programs run through November.