Between Two Vaccines

Edition #11 of the Relentless RoundUp has hit the inbox this week.

And my opening sentiment is that I feel a reawakening of the spirit. And a deep sense of relief.

I also have a profound amount of GRATITUDE for all the frontline healthcare workers and essential service providers that literally put their own lives at risk every single day for the rest of us as the world navigated the unfamiliar these past sixteen months.

How about you? What are your top-line feelings?

If there is one undeniable positive outcome of the pandemic it is that people have been discussing mental health openly and often; we’ve allowed ourselves to be vulnerable with one another. We have also seen how Covid has exacerbated historic and persistent inequalities. While it is a shared global tragedy, it is not a shared experience, and we must recognize the mental health implications of these experiences show up differently in our communities. 

Let’s face it. The post-pandemic reset, and routines are going to be tough. Not everyone is going to feel liberation. While some will lean toward ‘hyper-sociability’ others in our circles may be suffering deep anxiety about in person obligations and fear of a new wave.

Bottom-line? A plea for compassion as we head into the next phase of 2021.

Notes on Digital Health

It appears that an equally positive outcome of the pandemic is the meteoric rise in funding of innovative mental health businesses. Mental health, an area of investment focus for Relentless, ranked as the top funded clinical indication within digital health in Q1 2021. More specifically, CB Insights reported that mental health funding increased by nearly 54% quarter over quarter to $852M as part of the record-breaking quarter for all digital health funding that was at an all-time high of $9 billion.

A litany of industry funding reports highlight that ‘digital health is in a pivotal moment’; a flourishing digital health industry has enjoyed months of mega financing deals, public offerings and M&A underscoring sustainable growth and delivering compelling returns.

The pandemic pulled digital health from the wings to the mainstage. The Relentless team has been syndicating from those wings for years! We welcome the mainstage spotlight.

Portfolio Spotlight: CloudMD [TSXV:DOC] (acquirer of Relentless digital mental health start-up, Snapclarity) reported record revenue of $8.8M for the first quarter of 2021, representing an increase of 51% compared to Q4 2020. CloudMD, accelerating growth through M&A, stated that their Q1 acquisitions plus pending Q2 acquisitions cue them up for a strong 2021 showing with annualized revenue run rate expected to exceed $120 million. Huge shoutout to CloudMD cast and crew!

GRAND REVEAL One – The Kinetyx PR

If you don’t yet follow the Relentless Venture Fund on LinkedIn, you will have missed a couple ‘grand reveals’ in recent weeks.

Kinetyx Sciences, a business spun out of parent, and Relentless portfolio company, Orpyx Medical announced their first round of financing. Kinetyx is taking the sensory insoles developed by Orpyx and customizing applications in non-medical applications.

And it wasn’t your typical emerging technology seed funding announcement, the press release has been minted. Yes, you read that right. If you are tracking NFT’s, you are already in the know of how non-fungible tokens (NFTs), stored on the digital ledger known as a blockchain, once minted are certified unique digital assets.

The entire company is indeed unique. Kinetyx enables the capturing of laboratory quality data, out in the real world, unlocking entirely new ways to train, compete, and play.

GRAND REVEAL Two – Canary’s Expanded Partnership

The CEO of global MedTech leader Zimmer Biomet, slipped in some news about expanding the relationship with Canary Medical during their earnings call on May 5th. He casually mentioned that the partnership is “going to be for hip, it’s going to be for shoulder, there’s going to be a whole pipeline of technologies that will launch.”

FYI - The original partnership was solely for knees.

To read about "GRAND REVEAL Three" sign up for the Relentless RoundUp here: https://tinyletter.com/Relentless.

In the meantime, I am available for coffees and conversation, zoom’s, or a classic phone call - whatever your next phase of pandemic life feels most comfortable with. And with a nod to Zach Galifianakis’ ‘Between Two Ferns’, ask me anything!