AI-First Health Technology Accelerator · 2026

Build the next
AI-native health
tech leader.
With us.

The AI-first health tech accelerator helping early-stage founders address unmet clinical needs with innovative technologies. HF2.0 provides the playbook to turn teams developing early-stage tech into scalable, investor-ready health technology companies.

Estonia — #1 in Digital Health Maturity · Best ecosystem to build AI health tech
Legacy

Six years building the
health tech ecosystem
of the New Nordics

2019 – 2023
First health tech vertical accelerator in the Baltics
2024 – 2026
Leading health tech accelerator in the New Nordics
2026 – 2030
AI-first · New-Nordic Market Access · Next chapter
2019
Founded
The first health technology vertical accelerator in the Baltics — built from the ground up in Estonia.
43
Teams through the accelerator
41 companies graduated. 30 still active today, building across diagnostics, digital therapeutics, medical technologies, and clinical systems.
>40M€
Capital raised
Portfolio companies have raised over €40M in capital, with fundraising support and investor introductions from our global network.
8
Hub partners
Health Founders leads New Nordics partnerships and is the main organiser of the New Nordics Demo Day — the flagship regional health innovation event connecting hubs from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland.

New Nordics Demo Day

Annual flagship online demo day co-organised with 8 health tech hubs across the region, with over 150 attendees — connecting startups, hospitals, and investors at scale.

Watch past editions →

DTX Estonia

Digital Therapeutics Association of health tech manufacturers in Estonia and the Baltic markets — advancing evidence-based digital health solutions.

Follow DTX Estonia →

Health Founders Estonia

Local chapter supporting Estonian health tech founders with community, early-stage resources, and ecosystem access.

Learn more →

New-Nordic Market Access Accelerator

Next-phase later-stage cross-border market access accelerator in development together with Digital Well Ventures.

Learn more →
Programme

New tech brings opportunities.
The rules still decide who succeeds.

A structured path: MVP → investments → scaling.

Health Founders 2.0 is an AI-first health technology accelerator working with early-stage teams who have identified a real clinical or health system problem and are ready to build a scalable, technology-driven solution. Health tech is one of the most rigidly regulated industries on the planet — our job is to help you find the balance: where to push hard on AI and where to slow down to comply with clinical, regulatory, and reimbursement rules that aren’t going anywhere.

4-month acceleration phase

Teams move through a structured pre-accelerator phase, followed by an intensive accelerator cohort and an on-site building week — supported at every stage by lead mentors, AI, clinical, and regulatory experts.

30-month business development & harvesting phase

Teams get access to a wide network of investors, clinicians, service providers, executive and non-executive professionals — with continuous support from peers and our team.

AI-native thinking
Not AI as a feature.
AI as a way of thinking.

We don't help founders bolt AI onto their product. We help them think in AI-native language from day one — in how they design for clinical workflows, how they build for scale, and how they talk to investors and health systems.

Every element of the programme is built around this principle. The tools, the mentors, the workshops, the frameworks — all of it is designed to develop founders who lead with AI thinking at every step of company development.

What we offer

What you get.
One coherent system.

01
AI-native company building
Study cases, ideation, building workshops, and progress tracking — all structured around AI-native product and company development.
02
CIMIT framework
Workshops with domain experts across clinical validation, regulatory strategy, business model, and tech — the full company-building stack.
03
Mentoring
Weekly 1:1s and pitch sessions with a curated network of mentors matched to your specific stage and clinical vertical.
04
Clinical matchmaking
Tools and contacts to validate clinical concepts, plan studies, and run pilots across the New Nordics — plus reverse-pitch sessions where health systems bring their needs to you.
05
Commercial
Tools and contacts to validate business models and understand different reimbursement systems across markets and geographies — from the New Nordics to the US and UK.
06
Fundraising support
Visibility to the Health Founders global investor network. On-site pitching and warm intros timed to your CIMIT readiness stage. Target: investment within 6 months of graduating.

Community Hub

Co-working space in Tallinn, Ülemiste City — the #1 tech park in the New Nordics.

Alumni programme

3 years of post-graduation support — mentoring, investor intros, and ecosystem access.

Product testing

Test your product with our clinical partners. Real-world validation with health system stakeholders.

Keep building

We're building the infrastructure for the next generation of AI health tech leaders — together.

Who it's for

Built for teams
past the idea stage

You're a fit if you have

  • MVP ready or TRL 3–5
  • Validated clinical or industry need
  • 2 or more team members
  • 20+ hours per week to dedicate
  • Ability to travel to Estonia for on-site week
  • Ability to work in EU working hours

Outside our scope

  • Wellness or lifestyle applications
  • Environmental health
  • Veterinary health
  • Drug development
Team types we support
Diagnostics Medical technologies Digital therapeutics Clinical data management Clinical development systems
Timeline

From application
to on-site sprint

May – Jul
Applications open Submit via the online form. Over 80 applications received in past cycles.
Jul
Screening round 1 First review — teams assessed on fit, team, and clinical need.
Aug
Pre-accelerator Structured sprint to pressure-test assumptions and team dynamics — 25 teams accepted.
Aug
Screening round 2 Final selection for the accelerator cohort.
Sep – Dec
Accelerator begins 4-month programme kicks off with the 12-team cohort. CIMIT, mentoring, regulatory, clinical, investor access — finishing with an online demo day for investors from all over the world.
Oct
On-site building week Hands-on AI-native company building in Tallinn with mentors, investor pitches and more — 6 teams on-site.
Dec
Demo day & investment Top 3 teams showcased to the global investor network. Target: secure investment within 6 months of graduating.
Portfolio

43 teams
building what's next

From diagnostics to digital therapeutics, our portfolio companies are solving real clinical problems across the New Nordics and beyond.

Nanordica Vivid Mind Neurosalience VITS Migrevention LungPass Dermtest Cognuse forYou Essence Attained EMMA SpeakTX SEPSISCAN CheckEye Aisthesis Medical MarkerX HR chatbot Medon PrintyMed Innovomotion mpilo mu AIP Clinic ellis XR Medical Intelligent Assist Cliniki Mentastic MediQueue Statooth Psycron Guardian DiabSense
Lead mentors & experts

People who bring
deep expertise to the table

Erki Mölder
Erki Mölder
Managing Partner, Health Founders · Managing Partner, Verge HealthTech Fund
Zdenek Fred Fous
Zdenek Fred Fous
General Partner, PurposeTech · Prague
Elizabeth Jennings
Elizabeth Jennings
Managing Partner, Venture Atlas Labs · Austin, USA
Secil Matasova
Secil Matasova
Clinical Research & Regulatory Compliance · Estonia
Christian Kumar
Christian Kumar
CEO, MedTech Makers Lab · Investor · London, UK
Christoffer Melchior
Christoffer Melchior
Health Tech Lead, DANBAN · Copenhagen
Kristjan Gutmann
Kristjan Gutmann
Practicing dentist · VP, Estonian Dental Association · 2 exits
David Yakobi
David Yakobi
Cardiac Surgeon and Medical Consultant · USA
Ksenia Kapoor
Ksenia Kapoor
Technical Operations Consultant, Unite Us · USA
Stephen O'Rourke
Stephen O'Rourke
Founder & Principal Regulatory Consultant, Clarifi · Helsinki
Shahab Anbarjafari
Shahab Anbarjafari
Director of AI at PwC Finland · Founder, iCV Research Lab · Estonia
Taavi Einaste
Taavi Einaste
eHealth and eGov Expert, Nortal · Estonia
Mazin Gadir
Mazin Gadir
Digital Health and Innovation Expert · EMA
Rainar Aamisepp
Rainar Aamisepp
CEO, SYNLAB North Europe & CEMEA · Estonia
Ants Nõmper
Ants Nõmper
Managing Partner, Ellex Raidla · Estonia
Andrus Oks
Andrus Oks
Founding Partner, Tera Ventures · Estonia
Joseph Mocanu
Joseph Mocanu
Managing Partner, Verge HealthTech Fund · Singapore
Rocco van den Berg
Rocco van den Berg
Healthcare advisor and innovator · Netherlands
Christopher McKee
Christopher McKee
Advisor · Clinical & Commercial Partnerships and Business Development · UK
Jack Halligan
Jack Halligan
Co-founder, Prova Health · Honorary Research Fellow, Imperial College London · UK

Interested in joining as a mentor?

We're always looking for experienced founders, clinicians, investors, and regulators to join our mentor network. If you have expertise to share with early-stage health tech teams, we'd love to hear from you.

Express interest →

Stay in the loop

Follow our LinkedIn page for events, opportunities, and updates from the Health Founders ecosystem and the New Nordics health tech community.

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Partners

Built with the
best in the ecosystem

SYNLAB Ülemiste City Ellex Startup Estonia EstBAN TalTech University of Tartu Health Capital Helsinki Clarifi Tervise Maja Bio Design Finland Venture Atlas Labs Arctic 15 CIMIT Prova Health
Team

The team behind
Health Founders 2.0

The team that built the strongest health tech ecosystem in the New Nordics from scratch utilising their own experience and knowledge in founding, scaling, and exiting companies. From running clinical trials, navigating regulatory approvals and raising capital, Health Founders team continues to support Estonia’s claim to #1 in digital health maturity globally.

Erki Mölder
Erki Mölder
Managing Partner

Managing Partner at Health Founders, member of the Advisory Council of Health Founders Estonia, and Managing Partner at Verge HealthTech Fund. Founding member of the Estonian Health Economy Association and other initiatives. 25+ years of experience in healthcare and healthtech, including founding and leading major Estonian health sector companies such as Qvalitas Medical Centre and Unimed Group. Brings senior strategic, investor, market access, and ecosystem development expertise.

Keita Augstkalne
Keita Augstkalne
Managing Partner

Managing Partner at Health Founders. Former brand strategist and health tech startup founder. Brings experience in tech development, clinical research, and partnership development with hospitals, academic institutions, and health innovation stakeholders across the Nordics and Europe.

Siim Saare
Siim Saare
Founder-in-Residence

Founder & CEO of Lifeyear and Co-Founder of Activate. Founding Partner at Health Founders and the Estonian Health Economy Association. 20+ years building and scaling digital products, leading international teams, and executing go-to-market strategies in regulated markets. On a mission to radically extend human healthspan.

Katrina Laks
Katrina Laks
Founder-in-Residence

Co-Founder and CEO of Migrevention — the world's first digital headache clinic and a Health Founders Batch 1 alumna. Former biochemist, bringing deep founder-side experience in digital therapeutics, clinical trials, regulatory pathways, and patient-centred product building.

Contact

Let’s talk

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LinkedIn →
Applications 2026

Join the leaders in building
AI-native health tech.

Applications close July 20, 2026.

Apply now →
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