The world’s tech giants continue to go after strategic acquisitions aimed at deepening their presence in the healthcare world. On Tuesday, Samsung announced its plans to acquire Xealth, a digital health startup spun out of Providence eight years ago.
The deal marks the 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 closed in August. Financial details of the Xealth acquisition were not disclosed.
Samsung has developed a suite of products over the last few years to monitor health at home, such as wearables and ambient sensors. The company also wants to turn its devices like phones, TVs and other appliances into a foundation for ambient home health monitoring over the next couple of decades.
To act on that vision, Samsung needs integration into clinical workflows, hence the acquisition of Xealth.
Seattle-based Xealth works with health systems to help them integrate digital tools into providers’ workflows. The company combines various tools from different vendors into a single platform, which gives providers a more accurate view of their patients’ health. Its customer network spans more than 500 hospitals across the country, such as Providence, UPMC, Mass General Brigham, Advocate Health and Banner Health.
Xealth CEO Mike McSherry said the deal was made because his company had reached the typical growth ceiling for a digital health startup, so if it wanted to scale any more, it was going to have to do so through an acquisition or IPO.
“The timing worked out perfectly with Samsung’s aspiration to get deeper into clinical workflows with their devices and the data stemming from some of those devices. As they looked around the industry, we wound up to be the perfect partner for them,” he explained. “Samsung recognized that the healthcare market is distinct, and they didn’t necessarily have the expertise on how to work with hospital systems.”
The deal is still subject to regulatory reviews — but if it goes through, Xealth will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics. McSherry will remain CEO, and the rest of the executive team will retain their positions as well, he said.
This acquisition comes at a time when the outlook for digital health startup exits is becoming increasingly optimistic.
The first half of 2025 contained the long-awaited IPOs of Hinge Health and Omada Health, two exits that many felt were overdue following years of stagnation. There have also been plenty of digital health startups exiting through M&A this year, with more than 100 deals in the past six months — which puts the year on pace to nearly double 2024’s total.
McSherry attributes the industry’s momentum largely to the rapid pace at which providers have adopted new technology in recent years.
“Providers are playing a strong role in adopting and deploying and distributing digital health solutions. It was largely payers and employers who were the early adopters. We’re seeing an increase in interest in the number of different digital solutions that our provider customers want to deploy to their patient populations,” McSherry declared.
With providers now leading the charge in digital adoption, Samsung’s bet on Xealth may prove wise.
Photo: designer491, Getty Images
