New collaboration will back early-stage artificial intelligence applications in healthtech, medtech and biotech

Techstars, Johns Hopkins University, and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst) announced today a collaboration to launch a new healthcare accelerator program designed to support early-stage entrepreneurs building pathways to better care through artificial intelligence.

Techstars AI Health Baltimore powered by Johns Hopkins and CareFirst combines the university’s expertise in transforming research into commercially viable businesses, CareFirst’s experience in advancing access to affordable, equitable, high-quality healthcare, and Techstars’ accelerator model that has helped entrepreneurs build thousands of successful companies, including more than 600 in healthcare. 

“The application of artificial intelligence to healthcare will enable new avenues of innovation, creating more powerful solutions for patients more quickly,” said Andrew Cleland, chief investment officer at Techstars. “Entrepreneurs are at the center of this change as they apply cutting-edge technology to improve care and, ultimately, impact people’s lives. Their ability to collaborate with prominent health systems like Johns Hopkins and CareFirst, plus Techstars’ programming, capital, and connections will help multiply that impact.”

“Johns Hopkins is well known for health care excellence and innovation, and with the 2023 launch of our Data Science and AI Institute, Johns Hopkins is building a similar concentration of excellence in this emerging field,” said Myra Norton, head of startup acceleration at Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, the university’s commercialization and entrepreneurship arm. “By collaborating with Techstars at the intersection of healthcare and AI, Johns Hopkins aims to bring more entrepreneurs to our ecosystem and catalyze more startup activity to bring high-impact healthcare innovation to market.”

The accelerator program will take place in-person in Baltimore, a city at the forefront of healthcare innovation thanks to the influence of anchor institutions like CareFirst, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit healthcare organizations, and Johns Hopkins, America’s first research university. This new program builds on the success of Techstars Equitech, a three-cohort series in partnership with UpSurge Baltimore that concluded in May 2024. In its capacity as Baltimore’s technology ecosystem builder, UpSurge will continue to ensure that Techstars founders can leverage the wide continuum of assets that exist in greater Baltimore.

“We are excited by the prospect of artificial intelligence as a transformative tool for the future of medicine, but also recognize that it needs to integrate seamlessly into workflows and systems to be most effective,” said Doba Parushev, who leads innovation and investment at CareFirst. “We are excited to work with early-stage entrepreneurs building practical solutions in the space, and eager to lend them CareFirst’s learnings from supporting our 3.5M+ members as they seek to deliver true value to the market."

Techstars AI Health Baltimore will serve as Techstars’ new flagship healthcare accelerator. Adam Phillips, the former managing director of Techstars Equitech, will lead the intensive, 13-week program focused on supporting entrepreneurs leading healthtech, medtech, and biotech startups. Startups will receive capital, guidance from experts, and other support required to navigate the complexities of the healthcare ecosystem and regulatory environment. Founders interested in the accelerator are encouraged to visit Techstars AI Health Baltimore to learn more. 

Applications open on August 26, 2024, and will be accepted through November 20, 2024.

About Techstars

Techstars invests in early-stage startups led by unstoppable entrepreneurs with transformative businesses. With 45+ accelerators worldwide, and an unrivaled network of alumni, mentors, commercial partners, investors, and dedicated operating teams, Techstars supports entrepreneurs throughout their entire startup journey while helping to build thriving startup communities. Since 2006, we have invested in more than 4,400 portfolio companies, accelerating the growth of businesses including Chainalysis, Zipline, DataRobot, Alloy, and many, many more. www.techstars.com

About Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University has been delivering the benefits of discovery to the world for nearly 150 years, attracting a diverse community of 30,000 students to Baltimore from every corner of the nation and world. Its world-renowned faculty and researchers have led the country in federal research funding every year since 1979. As Baltimore’s largest employer, Hopkins is an engine of prosperity for the region. It flourishes today as a hub of advanced open-minded scientific inquiry and civil debate that challenges and changes conventional thinking with innovative findings across its nine academic divisions, the Applied Physics Laboratory, and the new Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C.

About CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield 

In its 87th year of service, CareFirst, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is a not-for-profit healthcare company which, through its affiliates and subsidiaries, offers a comprehensive portfolio of health insurance products and administrative services to 3.5 million individuals in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia. In 2023, CareFirst infused $233 million in support of regional community impact to improve overall health and advance accessible, affordable, equitable, high-quality healthcare. To learn more about CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, visit www.carefirst.com.

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