Health Tech Startups and Innovation Hubs in Latin America
By Mariana Romero Roy
With the advent of AI, digitization, and the proliferation of smartphones reshaping our daily lives, it is no surprise that healthcare is undergoing a similar revolution. The integration of advanced technologies, such as telemedicine, big data, and AI, is making healthcare more accessible, efficient, and innovative than ever before.
Latin America’s Role
While Latin America is often considered to be behind the curve in the healthcare sector, what’s interesting about these recent health tech developments is that this no longer seems to be the case. In many instances, Latin America is leading the charge in healthcare innovation and outpacing the rest of the world in funding and investments.
Latin American Health Tech by the Numbers
- Estimated growth of the global digital health market in 2024: 5.5%
- Estimated growth of the Latin American digital health market in 2024: 37.6%
- Estimated value of the Latin American digital health market by the end of 2024: $35b
- Growth of AI use in Latin American startups between 2022 and 2024: 6%
- Percentage of health tech startups devoted to diagnosis, treatment and prevention: 52%
- Percentage of health tech startups located in Brazil or Mexico: 78%
A Region on the Rise
As you can see, Latin America is exploding with health tech and innovation potential, with the estimated growth of the region far outpacing the world as a whole. While most of the innovation is coming from Brazil and Mexico, they are far from the only players in health tech. For example, Chile, Argentina and Colombia also provide 8%, 6% and 6% to the overall total, respectively. When you look at the individual success stories from different countries, the contributions to health tech throughout Latin America become even clearer.
Success Stories
Across the region, health tech startups are already improving the quality and efficiency of care for millions of Latin Americans. Here are just a few of many examples of innovation seen throughout the region.
Unima. Based out of Mexico, Unima is a health tech startup aimed at providing fast and low-cost medical diagnostic services to rural areas of Mexico without easy access to labs. The idea is to expand the access to affordable care and accurate diagnoses, while at the same time helping to control infectious diseases in these areas. To date, the company has reached more than 500,000 patients.
Mevo. This Brazilian-based company has created a digital prescription platform that allows patients to purchase prescriptions and access information about their medications via an easy-to-use mobile app. In late 2024, they secured almost $20 million in venture funding, allowing them to scale up and provide their services to many more Brazilians.
1DOC3. In the country of Colombia, millions of users have already discovered this unique telemedicine platform, which allows them to access doctors via text and chat in a matter of minutes. 1DOC3 uses AI and other technologies to improve wait times and reduce the costs associated with speaking with a doctor. It utilizes WhatsApp and other common platforms to provide access even in remote areas.
Pura Mente. Health tech startups have grown in the mental health space in Latin America, as well, reflecting a growing demand for more support in this area. One example is Pure Mente, an Argentinian app focused on meditation and mindfulness. Since its launch in 2019, it has grown to over one million users. It’s been particularly helpful in Argentina, where mental health services are historically underfunded.
TRAINFES. Electrostimulation is a common therapy for rehabilitation for many neurological disorders like stroke or spinal cord injuries, but treatment often requires traveling to a center that many patients in Latin America do not have access to. In Chile, TRAINFES allows patients to receive therapy sessions remotely without traveling to a rehabilitation center. Thus far, it has already helped more than 10,000 patients.
Innovation Hubs
A major reason that Latin America is seeing major growth in its health tech startups in recent years is the development of “innovation hubs” around the region. These are areas where a focus is placed on the growth of technology, and they often attract the venture capital firms needed to fuel this growth.
For example, Mexico City is often referred to as the “Silicon Valley of Latin America,” and it’s far from alone in its embrace of tech innovation. Other cities that have notable tech startups and venture capital funding include Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Santiago and many other areas around Latin America. The tech talent pool in these cities is large and growing, and they often offer cost savings over other regions, making them appealing destinations for tech companies and venture capital firms. In late 2023, the World Economic Forum declared that Latin America was “set to become a global powerhouse for innovation.”
Continuing Challenges
Of course, continuing innovation in Latin America, just as it is in many regions, is not without its challenges. Some people are slow to adopt or trust digital health services, and it takes time to convert people to the benefits it can provide. The outdated rules, regulations and infrastructure governing health care in many countries in Latin America can also be a hindrance to progress. This not only slows adoption, but also scalability beyond home countries into different regions. Finally, funding can still be an issue for some startups. In some cases, this can be due to a lack of venture capital, although other regions are not taking full advantage of the venture capital that is available to them.
Key Takeaways for Medical Companies
It’s clear that medical innovations and health tech startups are already taking hold in Latin America, and this trend should only continue to proliferate in the years ahead. As a supplier in the region, you can take advantage of these trends by being forward-thinking and looking for opportunities to partner with companies that are increasing access to care through digital health services.
If there are platforms that are increasing access to telemedicine, prescription access, digital therapies or other innovations, being innovative can help you grow along with these startups. If your services are primarily focused on hospitals and medical centers, perhaps there are ways that what you offer can be part of the growing wave of digital health services as they continue to grow in the region.
Next Steps
Contact GHI to learn more about innovation and health tech startup trends and their potential impact on the healthcare industry in Latin America. Our team of researchers can provide the strategic analysis you need to gain valuable insights to support strategic decision-making in your industry.
