Many digital health leaders are optimistic about the digital health sector in 2025, but still anticipate headwinds, a recent survey from Summit Health Advisors revealed.
Summit Health Advisors is a healthcare consulting firm. Its Digital Health Go-to-Market Report was conducted in partnership with independent market research provider PureSpectrum. It received responses from 103 digital health senior leaders.
Here are five key findings:
1. Positive outlook: More than 50% of leaders have a “very positive” outlook on the digital health economic landscape in 2025, while 31% are cautiously optimistic. Another 19% are unsure or have a negative outlook, citing customer budgets, economic uncertainty and competition.
2. Investment landscape: About 79% of digital health leaders said their companies are pursuing new investment capital in the next year. When asked about their biggest barriers to raising capital, 42% said they are worried they won’t get their desired terms (valuation, interest rate), 38% said they’re concerned they won’t raise their target amount and 36% anticipate challenges in finding new investors.
“While we suspected many digital health companies would be seeking funding around this time, roughly three or four years since the record-setting investments of 2020 and 2021, the flood of companies planning to raise is staggering,” said Seth Joseph, founder and managing director of Summit Health Advisors, in an email. “And considering over 41% of digital health companies are worried about making payroll and 35% are struggling to acquire new customers, the situation could be dire. 2025 will be a critical inflection point in digital health.”
3. Go-to-market challenges: The biggest go-to-market challenges for digital health companies are increasing market crowdedness, rising competition, and the “inability to effectively position against these competitive threats,” according to the report. To deal with competition, 67% are planning to expand internationally, citing U.S. market saturation and unmet revenue expectations domestically.
“Competition from large incumbents and new entrants was the most prevalent external challenge digital health companies are facing today,” Joseph said. “On top of this, the most common internal challenges companies are struggling with is effectively differentiating their products and developing compelling value props. Understanding the competitive landscape, market needs and your company’s unique value will be critical to fending off the competition.”
4. Polarized on telehealth: About 50% of respondents said telehealth is the digital health subsector with the greatest growth potential over the next year, while 27.7% said it has the least growth potential. In addition, 44% of executives said telehealth is where they predict the most M&A activity over the next year.
AI is also top of mind for digital health execs, with 43% saying there’s space for growth in AI applications and 41% saying it has shown strong ROI potential. However, 25% said AI is overhyped.
5. Partners for go-to-market efforts: About 31% of digital health leaders believe their teams need to enhance their understanding of their markets and competition. Of this group, 94% view improving this understanding as a top organizational priority. Nearly all respondents (99%) rely on external partners to help develop and implement their go-to-market strategies, with 71% reporting that most or all of their initiatives are supported by these external partners.
Photo: carloscastilla, Getty Images
