Twenty healthtech companies pledge: prove the impact of innovation— or change course

Healthy.Capital demonstrates what is possible: eight portfolio companies avoided €88.3 million in healthcare and societal costs in 2025, while six freed up the equivalent of 1,015 full-time healthcare positions

Utrecht, 10 November 2026 - Twenty healthtech companies and impact investor Healthy.Capital have committed to demonstrating the impact of their innovations with evidence and reporting their results transparently—even when they fall short of expectations. They signed the Healthy.Manifesto on 5 November during Healthy.Day in Utrecht. Innovations that fail to deliver will be adapted or discontinued. The signatories are also calling on the Dutch government, healthcare providers and health insurers to translate the MedTech2035 policy agenda into concrete commitments, including a common standard of evidence and outcome-based contracts that reward avoided care.  

Healthcare under pressure

The Dutch healthcare system is under growing pressure, and that pressure is set to intensify. By 2030, an estimated 24% of the population will be aged 65 or over (Statistics Netherlands, CBS). The shortage of healthcare professionals is expected to reach 150,000 by 2030 (Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport), while healthcare spending is projected to account for one in every eight euros of gross domestic product (Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, CPB). More funding and more staff alone will not solve the problem. Healthcare must be organised differently so that the existing workforce can care for more people. Healthy.Capital’s mission is to keep healthcare affordable and accessible by investing in healthcare innovation.

Earlier this year, Healthy.Capital and its portfolio companies presented their impact to the healthcare sector, calculated by using the LIFe impact framework:

In 2025, eight portfolio companies collectively avoided an estimated €88.3 million in healthcare and society costs.

In 2025, six companies collectively freed up an estimated 1,015 FTEs of healthcare capacity.

Since 2018 the companies have reached more than one million patients and clients.

Every euro invested generated €5.19 in societal savings

Strong foundations, but barriers to adoption remain

The Netherlands has all the ingredients for success: world-class medical expertise, innovative entrepreneurs, advanced technology and available investment capital. Yet proven innovations still struggle to become an integral part of routine healthcare. Too often, new technology is added to existing processes without fundamentally changing how care is delivered.

“Everyone talks about innovation, but the question that matters is: what does it actually deliver?” says Douwe Jippes, managing partner at Healthy.Capital. “You have to be honest about that. We want to show which innovations genuinely give healthcare professionals time back and genuinely help patients, and which ones don’t. Because only when it’s clear what an innovation delivers can care providers and insurers redesign existing care. That is when innovation leads to lasting improvement instead of extra costs.”

Five commitments: from investing in healthcare innovation to investing in healthcare impact

The manifesto is entitled “From Investing in Healthcare Innovation to Investing in Healthcare Impact”. The signatories see AI-driven innovation as part of the answer to mounting pressure on healthcare—but only where it delivers demonstrable results. They have therefore made five commitments:

1. We develop solutions for measurable healthcare impact. Better health outcomes, accessibility and workforce productivity.

2. We invest in evidence. Clinical validation, patient safety and impact measurement.

3. We responsibly transform existing healthcare. Improving, reducing or replacing existing healthcare processes.

4. We are transparent about results. We report honestly about societal value, capacity and costs, even when outcomes fall short of expectations.

5. We build sustainable businesses. Generating healthy returns through better, scalable healthcare.  

From MedTech2035 to healthcare in 2040

The manifesto aligns with the MedTech2035 policy agenda, presented by the Dutch government on 26 October. One of its goals is to have at least 20 proven effective AI applications in use by 2029. The signatories are calling on the government, healthcare providers and health insurers to turn these ambitions into concrete commitments: a common standard of evidence; outcome-based contracts for avoided care; agreements on which existing care can be replaced; shared foundational digital infrastructure; and an independent annual impact monitor.

“We won’t build the healthcare of 2040 in 2040. We build it now,” says Jippes. “Anyone who wants to protect the solidarity at the heart of our healthcare system has to do more than defend what we have today. That is why scaling our impact requires more capital. Together, as an ecosystem, we need to invest in a future of accessible and affordable healthcare.”

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Note for the editors

You can download the full manifesto here.

Healthy.Capital’s measurement methodology

Healthy.Capital measures the impact of its portfolio using the LIFe Impact Framework. This framework was developed by Invest-NL, PGGM, Achmea Investment Management, VGZ and CbusineZ. It is the first shared standard for measuring the societal impact of healthcare investments.

Healthy.Capital is the first fund to apply the framework across its entire portfolio and make the results publicly available.

Each figure is labelled according to the strength of its supporting evidence: measured, estimated or modelled. Figures that cannot be substantiated are not reported.

Signatories of the manifesto Guideways.ai, OpenUp, Clementine, Cordys Analytics, Flouria, MS Sherpa, Clear.bio, Datamonk, Pharmi, Ask Aletta, Saar aan Huis, Coforix , Primio, Reducept, MiGuide, Plain Medical, Homed-IQ, VRelax, Upendo, IkHerstel en Healthy.Capital.About Healthy.Capital

Healthy.Capital invests in startups that provide technological and digital solutions for healthcare, with the goal of reducing demand for care, increasing the productivity of healthcare professionals, and lowering healthcare costs. With Healthy.Capital Impact Fund III, it aims to invest €50 million in the next generation of Dutch and European healthcare companies, with a particular focus on AI. For more information: healthy.capital

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