Global tech giants continue to pursue strategic acquisitions with the goal of deepening their presence in the healthcare sector. On Tuesday, Samsung announced plans to acquire Xealth, a digital health startup that left Providence eight years ago.
The deal marks the South Korean tech giant's second major health acquisition in less than a year as Samsung bought French prenatal ultrasound startup Sonio in a $92 million deal that ended in August. Financial details obtained by Xealth were not disclosed.
Over the past few years, Samsung has developed a suite of products to monitor the health of the home, such as wearable devices and environmental sensors. The company also hopes to convert devices such as mobile phones, TVs and other devices into the foundation for environmental home health monitoring in decades to come.
To take action on that vision, Samsung needs to integrate it into its clinical workflow to get Xealth.
Seattle-based Xealth works with the health system to help them integrate digital tools into their provider’s workflow. The company combines a variety of tools from different suppliers into a single platform, which allows providers to have a more accurate understanding of the health of patients. Its customer network covers over 500 hospitals nationwide, such as Providence, UPMC, Volkswagen Yang, Advocate Health and Banner Health.
Xealth CEO Mike McSherry said the deal was reached because his company had reached the typical growth ceiling of a digital health startup, so if it wanted to expand again, it would have to be done through an acquisition or an IPO.
“The timing works perfectly with Samsung’s desire to use its devices and the data from these devices to get deeper into the clinical workflow. When they look around the industry, we end up being the perfect partner for them,” he explained. “Samsung recognizes that the healthcare market is different and they don’t necessarily have the expertise to work with the hospital system.”
The deal remains subject to regulatory scrutiny, but if passed, Xealth will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics. McSherry will continue to serve as CEO, and the remaining executive team will retain its position, he said.
The acquisition comes at a time when the prospect of Digital Health launches exports is becoming more and more optimistic.
The first half of 2025 included long-awaited IPOs from Hinge Health and Omada Health, two exports felt overdue after they were stagnant. There are also a lot of digital health startups exiting the merger and acquisition this year, with more than 100 deals in the past six months, bringing the year to nearly double the total in 2024.
McSherry attributes the industry momentum to the rapid pace of providers adopting new technologies in recent years.
McSherry announced: “Providers play an important role in adopting and deploying and distributing digital health solutions. This is what payers and employers are early adopters. We see an increase in interest in our provider customers looking to deploy them to different digital solutions for their patient populations.”
Samsung's bet on Xealth may be wise as providers now lead allegations of digital adoption.
Photo: Designer491, Getty Images
