Plus: Semantic Health acquired by US-based AAPC.
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Semantic Health acquired by US-based medical documentation firm AAPC
(BETAKIT)
Toronto artificial intelligence (AI) startup Semantic Health has been acquired by Utah-based medical coding, billing, and auditing firm AAPC for an undisclosed amount.
Following the acquisition, the two teams plan to expand Semantic Health’s functionality and bolster AAPC’s current product offerings. AAPC said it plans to continue supporting Semantic Health’s existing customers while growing the platform.
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Welltok data breach exposes data of 8.5 million US patients
(BLEEPINGCOMPUTER)
Healthcare SaaS provider Welltok is warning that a data breach exposed the personal data of nearly 8.5 million patients in the U.S. after a file transfer program used by the company was hacked in a data theft attack.
Patient data was exposed during the breach, including names, telephone numbers, as well as email and physical addresses. For some, it also includes Social Security Numbers, Medicare/Medicaid ID numbers, and health insurance information.
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Federal Fall Economic Statement promises to expand Payments Canada eligibility, introduce open banking legislation in 2024
(BETAKIT)
The Government of Canada’s Fall Economic Statement, delivered this week by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, includes promises to implement a consumer-driven banking framework next year, expand Payments Canada eligibility, and bolster the country’s competition watchdog, as well as updates regarding the Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit and the Canada Growth Fund.
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Palantir Wins NHS Data Contract Worth Up to £480 Million
(BNN BLOOMBERG)
Palantir Technologies, the data analysis company co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, has won a contract worth upwards of £480 million to overhaul the National Health Service’s patient data system in the UK.
The decision is both predictable and controversial. Palantir has been working with the health service since the Covid-19 pandemic, and its relationship with the NHS has drawn fire from patient advocacy and civil society groups concerned about the privacy of medical data.
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PointClickCare’s Mike Wessinger on how Canada’s tech sector stacks up globally
(BETAKIT)
Mike Wessinger, the co-founder of PointClickCare and current board chair, is the first to admit he may not be a household name beyond industry circles.
In his exclusive interview with Aly Gillani, Head of Canadian Tech Investment Banking at RBC Capital Markets, Mike delves into his advice for cultivating a thriving tech ecosystem that stretches beyond Silicon Valley and how to build tech unicorns in Canada (while still staying humble, of course).
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How the CEO of the largest medical device accelerator molds medtech startups
(STAT)
CEO of MedTech Innovator, Paul Grand’s parents weren’t really into the software thing; they saw their son in medicine. Looking back on his adolescence, Grand, now 55, wonders whether having inspiring mentors around him would have made a difference.
Mentorship is the guiding principle of MedTech Innovator, a Los Angeles-based accelerator for early-stage medtech companies that Grand founded in 2013.
What started as a startup competition called MedTech Idol at an industry conference is, ten years later, practically an institution. Any new med device founder worth their salt knows to apply to MTI: for the mentorship, but also for exposure to the most powerful companies in the industry.
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Active Impact Investments launches third climate tech seed fund with $70 million in initial commitments
(BETAKIT)
Vancouver-based Active Impact Investments has secured over $70 million CAD in initial commitments for its third fund, which will continue the firm’s focus on early-stage climate technology startups.
Active Impact aims to raise a Fund III that is twice the size of its second fund, seeking a total of $120 million, the remainder of which it hopes to close in early 2024. These commitments bring Active Impact more than halfway towards that target, at a time when many other venture capital (VC) firms and startups alike are struggling to fundraise.
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US Supreme Court rejects Indian IT company’s appeal in Epic trade secrets case
(FIERCE HEALTHCARE)
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected India-based Tata Consultancy Services’ appeal against a $140 million punitive damages order passed by a district court relating to a trade secrets dispute with Epic.
The dispute with electronic health records giant Epic goes back to 2014. In a lawsuit filed nine years ago, Epic alleged the information technology services provider and its subsidiary Tata America International Corporation stole its intellectual property.
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Federal government commits $4.8M to Knowledge Hub, NACO through WES
(BETAKIT)
The federal government has made $4.8 million in new commitments to two initiatives under its Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES).
The National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) announced it received $1 million from the WES to launch the National Women’s Initiative, while WEKH, a national network consisting of ten regional hubs and a digital platform that connects women entrepreneurs, received an additional commitment of up to $3.8 million.
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Co.Labs hires Broad Street Bulls, Rhino Ventures alum Jonathan Lipoth as executive director
(BETAKIT)
After over a year of searching, Saskatoon-based technology hub Co.Labs has found its next executive director in Jonathan Lipoth.
Lipoth is a Saskatchewan native who has spent years working in early-stage Canadian tech on the venture capital (VC) side with Regina-based Broad Street Bulls and Vancouver’s Rhino Ventures.
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Vivodyne launches with $38M to create lab-grown human organs
(MOBIHEALTHNEWS)
Philadelphia-based AI-enabled biotech company Vivodyne announced it closed a $38 million seed funding round led by Khosla Ventures.
Vivodyne is a drug discovery company that uses clinically predictive AI to help identify therapeutic targets and predict a patient’s response to a drug by testing it on lab-grown human organ tissues. Utilizing robotic automation, the company can dose, cultivate and analyze more than 10,000 individual tissues at a time, creating a vast number of human datasets for AI training.
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Pathway raises $5 million in seed funding, opens free access to healthcare guidance platform
(BETAKIT)
Montréal-based healthtech startup Pathway has raised $5 million in seed funding for its AI-powered medical knowledge platform.
Pathway has also announced its decision to make its platform openly accessible with a free account and unveiled the beta version of Pathway AI, which it claims is its most advanced AI assistant and search tool to date. The new AI tool allows users to ask medical queries and receive a response drawing from Pathway’s database.
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Talkspace inks $26M contract with NYC to provide free mental health services to teens
(FIERCE HEALTHCARE)
Online therapy company Talkspace will provide free virtual mental health services to more than 400,000 adolescents and teens in New York City after inking a $26 million three-year contract for the program.
Launching this month, the service enables NYC teenagers to connect with a licensed therapist through phone, video and text.
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