Investors Gear Up for Market Momentum in Health Care IT

Industry leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs gathered at Troutman Pepper Locke’s Philadelphia office for the 2025 Mid-Atlantic Health Care IT Forum, a program highlighting innovation and offering market insights from across the health care IT sector.

The agenda featured an insightful investor discussion that examined what industry investors are looking for, why the mid-Atlantic region is attractive for investment, and what to expect in the coming year. The panel was followed by presentations from five cutting-edge health care IT companies.

Opening the event, Thomas Dwyer, a Corporate/Private Equity partner at Troutman Pepper Locke and co-chair of the firm’s emerging company and venture capital group, welcomed attendees and thanked sponsors for their support. He also reported resounding success from the last forum in 2023, noting that five presenting companies have completed full funding rounds since the event.

Investor Panel

Dwyer introduced the investor panel, which included Jarred Bressner, a Johns Hopkins-trained orthopaedic surgeon and principal at Activate Venture Partners, and Saul Richter, the founding and managing partner of Rittenhouse Ventures, who has more than 20 years’ experience investing in the health care technology space.

Kicking off the discussion, Dwyer asked the panelists to elaborate on their firms’ investment approach.

According to Bressner, Activate prefers to invest early, often in the first round of institutional financing. The firm typically invests into Seed and Series A rounds, committing $1.5 to $3 million at the outset, while allocating adequate reserves to continue supporting companies as they grow.

“We like to think that we are partnered with the founding entrepreneurs and working on something together,” Bressner said.

Richter’s firm generally looks for capital-efficient companies with $2 million to $10 million dollars in revenue. Currently, approximately 50% of Rittenhouse’s investments are in health care, but the firm is always looking for more.

According to Richter, “We always say we’ll do as much health care as we can because we’re based in the region, and this region really has strong health care chops.”

When Dwyer asked why the mid-Atlantic region is so conducive to health care investment, Bressner and Richter agreed the region’s phenomenal health care infrastructure was a significant factor, including the high concentration of academic medical centers, a quality talent pool, and the deep pharma presence in Philadelphia and the broader region.

Richter noted that the region is on par with Silicon Valley and other prominent health care IT markets, though in many cases is more affordable.

Bressner also alluded to different regional approaches. “On the West Coast, an outsider can come in with a ton of capital really fast and disrupt industries,” but cautioned that “moving fast and breaking things” isn’t always ideal in health care. He went on to say the East Coast approach tends to be more measured, disciplined, and value-oriented.

Dwyer then turned the conversation to the best way for entrepreneurs to approach investors.

Both panelists recommended pitches be short and sweet. Richter also noted a warm introduction goes a long way, as coming in as a known quantity can get your deal to the top of the stack.

Dwyer closed by asking panelists about what to expect in the coming year.

Richter observed that there has been some new energy coming back into the market with some successful health care IT IPOs and with large strategics looking to compete in the “AI arms race” after the rollercoaster of the last five years. But while wind may come back into the sails, he thinks there’s still some investor caution.

“I’m pretty optimistic. But the energy can change pretty quickly and it does,” Richter said.

Dwyer then turned it over to questions from the audience, concluding the panel.

Company Showcase

Following the investor panel, Troutman Pepper Locke associates Stephen Fox and Ethan Zook introduced the company showcase, featuring five standout health care IT companies:

• DTxPlus offers a voice-based AI health companion that is fully integrated with EMRs to provide disease management and care coordination for patients with chronic conditions.
• Keriton, Inc. provides an EMR-integrated SaaS platform for inpatient neonatal and pediatric feeding management.
• Intercept Telehealth is a tech‑enabled virtual ICU service provider that deploys remote, intensivist‑led teams in ICUs.
• Phia Health offers an AI‑driven maternity and postpartum platform that provides continuous monitoring to detect complications, as well as same‑day clinical intervention.
• Pursuant Health provides convenient, self-service health stations to pharmacies and other retailers.

The Health Care IT Forum concluded with a networking reception where attendees connected with investors, presenters, and colleagues to continue conversations around market opportunities. Other Troutman Pepper Locke attendees included Christopher Miller, Kathleen Swan, Gil Greber, and Emily Makar.

Thank you to our sponsors for supporting this year’s event: Activate Venture Partners, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Fairmount Partners, G-Squared Partners, HIMSS Delaware Valley Chapter, HIMSS-Emerge, Lockton, Philadelphia Health Link, and J.P. Morgan.