Portfolio News

How Blockchain Could Rebuild the Healthcare Industry

Outdated healthcare models are quickly becoming a thing of the past, thanks to an increase in startups using blockchain technologies. API firms like PokitDok, which recently announced its partnership with Intel to create a blockchain ledger solution called DokChain, is just one example of how cryptocurrency technology is being used to innovate and rebuild the healthcare industry. And it’s not just about the technology. Products like DokChain will allow healthcare professionals to get back to the most important part of their jobs: interacting with patients. The shift...

DokChain by PokitDok—Blockchain for Healthcare

Healthcare software platform provider PokitDok has recently introduced a new offering: DokChain, also known as blockchain for healthcare. PokitDok envisions DokChain providing a value-based solution that brings together many aspects of the healthcare process to improve stakeholders’ efficiency and satisfaction. DokChain uses artificial intelligence in the form of “smart contracts” which connect all healthcare participants to the DokChain and to each other. PokitDok CEO Lisa Maki believes it’s becoming increasingly clear that electronic medical records are no longer the sole repository of healthcare data. In fact,...

New Kyruus Report Reveals Critical Patient Experience Gaps in Health System Call Centers

Kyruus recently released the results of a study of 40 leading U.S. hospital and health systems and their ability to match patients with the right providers through their call centers. The company evaluated call centers for their ability to find the right provider for the patient; their ability to accommodate logistical needs and preference such as insurance accepted, location, and language; call wait times; and whether agents were able to book an appointment for the patient during the call. Kyruus found that while 76 percent of call...

Cancer Start-Up GRAIL Added One of Silicon Valley’s Best-Known Biotech VCs to Its Board

Grail, a company working to develop “liquid biopsies” for spotting cancer in the earliest stages, recently announced that it has added venture capitalist Brook Byers to its board of directors, according to an SEC filing. The filing also showed that Grail has raised a total of $973 million in its current Series B funding round. The company is now just shy of its goal to raise over $1 billion in this round of investment. Grail plans to use the capital for research and development, as well...

One of Google’s Most Embarrassing Flops Is Turning into a Real Business

Google Glass may not have panned out quite the way Google hoped when it first launched the smart glasses at its I/O conference in April 2012. But it’s finding new life in Google’s Glass at Work program, which partners with a variety of startups and investors who are using Google Glass in new and innovative ways. “It’s a big market today, and it will be an even bigger one in the future,” said Brian Ballard, founder and chief executive officer at Upskill, of the new uses...