In January, OSF Ventures launched its third and largest venture investment fund since its inception in 2016. The $100 million tranche brings the program’s total assets under management to $250 million.
The fund will be used to continue investing in companies that align strategically with OSF and will partner with the organization to deploy their solutions within the Ministry. The goal is to bring in technologies, devices and services that can enhance the patient experience, improve patient outcomes and reduce health care costs.
To date, OSF Ventures has vetted about 1500 opportunities and has invested in 26 companies and two health care venture funds. Nine portfolio companies have experienced successful exits. Stan Lynall, vice president of Venture Investments weighs in on the success of the program.
First off, congrats on the launch of your third round of funding!
Thank you! We started the ventures program from scratch with a pretty small team. However, over the years, we’ve successfully created policies and procedures and significantly expanded our resource base. We are particularly proud that we are able to invest in technologies that can make a real difference in our patients’ health care journey and ultimately their health care outcomes.
Why do you think the OSF Ventures program has been so successful?
I certainly think part of our success is attributable to our focus on investing in companies we believe can rise to the level of meeting our strategic needs. The team has also worked hard to build relationships with leaders and clinicians so that we can connect them to emerging technologies and get their feedback before performing comprehensive diligence on a company. We only move forward with that broad-based business diligence when we hear from our subject matter experts about their perceptions of the technology and how it can ultimately benefit the patients we serve.
What sets you apart from other health care-based venture funds?
I believe the broad innovation resources we bring to the table are somewhat unique. Not only do we invest financially in a company, but we also partner with them to improve and expand their product offerings. Our innovation teams are well-positioned to help us test, implement and scale solutions successfully across the Ministry.
What will your team be on the lookout for with the new fund?
While we’re not restricted to investing in the strategic innovation focus areas, we will keep our eyes on technologies in those areas. That means looking for opportunities in big data, the medical internet of things, health equity, social determinants of health, genomics and precision medicine, next-generation primary care and radical efficiency. Ultimately, we will continue to do what we’ve done from the beginning and that’s to strategically link investments to the key priorities of OSF HealthCare.
Last Updated: February 10, 2022