The startup announced Tuesday (May 13) that it is launching its initial public offering (IPO), intending to raise up to $437 million. Founded in 2014, Hinge Health offers physical therapy services for people needing musculoskeletal (MSK) care.
“There is no shortage of new technologies in the healthcare industry, yet the cost of care continues to rise,” the company said in a securities filing.
“In other industries, the launch of new technologies has generally improved end-user experiences and lowered costs. In healthcare, however, new technologies have not always been successful in lowering the cost of care or improving clinical outcomes.”
Hinge argues that there are two reasons for this. First, automating care can be difficult, as many healthcare interventions involve unstructured physical tasks. In addition, healthcare reimbursement “has specific pathways to pay for care,” limiting the efficacy of new technologies.
The company says it solves the automation problem by combining things like artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities like its motion tracking technology and a wearable device known as Enso to deliver care.
“To address healthcare reimbursement constraints, we developed novel billing methods for our innovative technology by both directly selling to employers while also partnering with health plans, pharmacy benefit managers, third-party administrators, and other ecosystem entities to efficiently provide our platform to clients and members,” the filing added.
Hinge’s IPO efforts come as many tech companies are putting plans to list on hold due to an uncertain economic climate. In fact, Hinge was mentioned last month in a report about startups that were “watching the market” after the U.S. imposed its new tariffs.
In other AI healthcare news, PYMNTS wrote last week about FaceAge, an app developed by hospital researchers affiliated with Harvard Medical School that analyzes a photograph to more accurately estimate a patient’s biological age rather than their chronological age. For instance, a healthy 75-year-old person could have the physiological traits of a 60-year-old.
“We found that, on average, patients with cancer look approximately five years older than their chronological age and have a statistically higher FaceAge compared with clinical cohorts of patients without cancer who are treated for conditions that are benign or precancerous,” the researchers wrote in their paper, published in The Lancet Digital Health.
Although AI is increasingly being used by medical professionals, it cannot replace the vital role that physicians and other caregivers play, healthcare experts have told PYMNTS.
Still, AI tools can be an important complement to make sure a patient receives a seamless digital experience, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence report “The Digital Healthcare Gap: Streamlining The Patient Journey.”
