Your Window Into the Innovation Economy

The past few years have fundamentally reshaped the healthtech space. Increasing healthcare costs have spurred demand for new approaches to healthcare. The vertical encompasses products and services utilized outside of conventional treatment centers like hospitals and doctors’ offices. Consumers and patients are increasingly embracing preventative and personalized care through new self-monitoring products and innovative services. Spurred on by the global pandemic and an array of new, transformative technologies, entrepreneurs and investors are surging into the healthtech space.

Blockchain has become one of the fastest-growing venture opportunities for investors. The technology offers transparency, data immutability, and decentralized ledgers with applications across many different industries. Startups and established companies alike are utilizing this revolutionary tech to introduce true digital ownership and scarcity in digital spaces.

Blockchain-based technologies offer unparalleled transparency, immutability, and security across a wide variety of industries, sectors, and applications. Innovative companies are utilizing this revolutionary technology to redefine the internet with a focus on digital ownership. Recent investment trends have made blockchain one of the most active sectors of private equity investments. The global blockchain market, which is divided into blockchain platforms and Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS), is projected to reach $69 billion in 2027. The tech’s application in existing industries is also a strong draw for investors. A Deloitte survey found that 86% of senior tech executives say that blockchain offers a compelling business case for their company. Gartner projects that businesses will gain $360 billion in value by 2026 thanks to blockchain-based projects — rising to $3.1 trillion by 2030. Alumni Ventures’ Blockchain Fund 3 will tap into this thriving ecosystem to identify and source high-potential blockchain opportunities for our investors. To learn more about how AV’s Blockchain Fund operates, we spoke with Alumni Ventures’ Chief Investment Officer Anton Simunovic.

The cybersecurity market is expected to grow to $345.4 billion by 2026. While companies are increasingly investing in their cybersecurity infrastructures, few have updated their defenses to take advantage of advanced, automated solutions. Additionally, the demand for improved threat protection is becoming increasingly significant due to the growing number of devices on the web with expanded capabilities.

Alumni Ventures is a network-powered venture capital firm helping accredited individuals become more successful venture investors. CEO and founder Mike Collins leveraged his own experience and frustrations as a private venture investor as inspiration to start Alumni Ventures.

Alumni Ventures portfolio company Looking Glass Factory is building the next generation of digital viewing experiences with fully functional holographic displays, no headgear required. The company’s high-performance inexpensive 3D solution has already become the most widely adopted holographic display.

The demand for SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) solutions continues to flourish, with the estimated global market value expected to reach $716.5 billion by 2028. Unfortunately, while companies like DocuSign and HubSpot have seen significant success and growth, today’s SaaS startups are finding it time-consuming to raise the capital to scale their platforms. SaaS founders typically have only two viable options for raising capital — an equity round or a debt round. Both options are expensive and require long lead times.

In finance, alternative data is a collection of non-traditional financial and market-related information. This provides investors with unique insights into investing trends that might affect their portfolio. Unfortunately, this information has long been largely accessible only to hedge funds, asset managers, and management firms, not individual accredited investors.

Healthtech represents one of the fastest-growing segments in healthcare. Emerging technologies such as bioprinting, genomics, and smart devices are driving revolutionary advances in healthcare while presenting valuable investment opportunities. Some sources gauge the global market size at ~$350 billion in 2019 and project growth to reach $950 billion by 2027. The venture story is, not surprisingly, equally robust. There are ~20,000 healthtech startups in the U.S., and VCs invested about $14 billion into the sector in 2020 — double 2019’s total. Some of this growth is due to the fact that consumers are increasingly embracing proactive, preventative, and personalized care, as well as self-monitoring products. Additionally, high healthcare costs are also increasing the demand for disruptive solutions. The global pandemic and the emergence of chronic diseases are also spurring innovation in telehealth and biotech. Alumni Ventures’ Healthtech Fund will target this intersection of entrepreneurship, growing trends, and transformative medical advances to source high-potential opportunities for investors. We spoke with Alumni Ventures’ Chief Investment Officer Anton Simunovic about what investors can expect from AV’s Healthtech Fund.

Alumni Ventures recently sat down with three key executives at Alumni Ventures to get their thoughts about the macro environment, venture, and the firm’s development.