The only ‘digital healthcare’ investment company in Korea… Possessing expertise and network accumulated through 9 years of single-track experience
Find and discover startups that will revolutionize healthcare… Helping them advance into the global market
Supporting the growth of entrepreneurs as a startup partner
Digital Healthcare Partners (DHP), a leading domestic investment firm leading the growth of digital healthcare startups, is also making its mark in the global market.
Founded in 2016, DHP is Korea’s only digital healthcare startup investment firm, and has invested in 45 companies as of last year. Based on its strong network of experts and brand power, DHP has successfully served as a hub connecting domestic digital healthcare startups and investment firms.
In particular, DHP was selected as the operator of TIPS (Teleinvestment-led Technology Startup Support) by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups last year, providing a new impetus for fostering deep-tech healthcare startups. Through this, DHP is expanding its influence in the global healthcare market beyond being a leader in the domestic digital healthcare field.
Yoonseop Choi, CEO of Digital Healthcare Partners (DHP).
Expertise and network in the field of ‘digital healthcare’ accumulated over 9 years
DHP's CEO, Yoon-Seop Choi, is the first person to introduce the concept of digital healthcare in Korea. Through his active column writing and lectures, CEO Choi has built a network encompassing industry, academia, research institutes, and the medical community. Based on this, he established an investment company in 2016 to foster digital healthcare startups.
“We felt that the medical field needed an investment firm with expertise. There were many medical investment firms in advanced markets, but there were none in Korea. We decided to take the first step.”
CEO Choi’s efforts have come to light in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the digital healthcare market has grown rapidly, DHP has established itself as a leading investment firm in this field. DHP’s representative investment portfolios include 3billion, Doctor Diary, Bluesignum, and Happy Moonday.
DHP also has a network of healthcare regulatory experts and testbed medical institutions to help startups enter the market. Senior entrepreneurs from global healthcare startups such as Noom, Viewno, and Delight Room serve as mentors to DHP’s portfolio companies.
Discovering startups that will lead 10x innovation in the medical field… Also considering the possibility of global expansion
Under the slogan of '10X', DHP is discovering and investing in startups that will develop the medical ecosystem 10 times more than it is now. The themes that are currently attracting attention are artificial intelligence, seniors, and globalization.
The number of investment cases reviewed by DHP increased significantly from 278 the previous year to 326 last year. “Our goal is to source all deals for domestic digital healthcare startups. As we see the number of excellent teams increasing every year, we feel that our expertise is being recognized,” said CEO Choi.
Now DHP is turning its eyes to the global market. In order to strengthen its profitability and influence, it felt the need to enter a larger global market. CEO Choi Yoon-seop said, “In the future, we will actively seek out teams with the ability and will to enter the global market. Fortunately, there are many excellent founders, including those with medical backgrounds, so the possibility of entering the global market is high.” In fact, DHP’s portfolio companies are already actively pursuing entry into overseas markets such as the US and Japan.
The most important thing is the founder's capabilities and connecting various opportunities for the founder's growth.
There are two main points that DHP pays attention to. The first is the capabilities and attitude of the founder and team, and the second is the potential of the business plan and item. In particular, the capabilities of the founder are considered important. CEO Choi Yoon-seop explained his investment philosophy by saying, “I think early-stage venture investment is a business that reads and evaluates people. I think that a startup grows as much as its CEO can, so I put a lot of effort into figuring out how well the CEO can grow as a manager.”
DHP maintains close relationships with portfolio companies even after the investment. It provides various support such as establishing business strategies, pivoting, and linking with hospitals, governments, and large corporations for clinical verification. It also regularly holds networking events such as Demo Day, Mentoring Day, and Family Day, and successfully held a Demo Day with 300 people last year.
“Unlike typical demo days that are mainly focused on investment companies, our demo day is attended by a variety of people, including not only investment companies but also people from the medical and academic fields, public institutions, large corporations, pharmaceutical companies, and insurance companies. Therefore, it plays a role in promoting portfolio companies to the entire healthcare ecosystem and supporting follow-up investment attraction.”
DHP aims to go beyond being a simple investment company and become a partner that creates medical innovation together. It is anticipated that the synergy they will create with startups will bring about changes to the domestic and international medical ecosystem.
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