Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a division of First Citizens Bank, has officially published the results from its latest report, which reveals that, despite overall funding on a course to being the lowest in more than a decade, AI-related deal activity remains a bright spot for the healthcare sector.
Going by the available details, all healthcare sectors saw strong growth in AI deal activity, whereas on the other hand, companies not leveraging AI saw a decrease of around 20%.
Talk about the published results on a slightly deeper level, we begin from the steady momentum of Healthtech discipline. This translates to how investors are still spending on healthtech, which accounted for about a third of total healthcare investment, with Healthtech AI alone accounting for 21%.
Next up, the given report found that, mid-way through the year, half of all dollars going to dx/tools companies are actually getting routed to those that leverage AI.
Another detail worth a mention is rooted in the fact that back-office operations, under the given reality, were deemed to be set for a massive transition. The stated conclusion was reached upon after the given operations took up 44% of all AI investment in the first half of 2025.
Taking a sector-wide view of these investments, we begin from the biopharma space, where median biopharma pre-money valuations among Series C+ were reported to be around $247M in H1 2025, compared to $46M and $87M for Series A and B biopharma startups, respectively.
Next in line would be the Healthtech space, which raised $8.2 B total dollars during this half, the strongest half since H1 2022. Series B deal size, on the other hand, jumped to $40M, also the highest over the past five years.
Then, there is the Dx/Tools domain. While its deal activity has largely slowed since 2024, Series A median pre-money valuations and deal size hit a five-year high at $38M and $14M.
Rounding up highlights would be the medical device industry, where device investment proved to be consistent, totaling between $3B and $4B every half since 2022. Having said so, macroeconomic events are projected to cause a major disruption as device companies appear likely to be most impacted by tariffs.
Among other things, it ought to be acknowledged that Silicon Valley Bank’s mid-year 2025 Healthcare Investments and Exits report is designed to analyze and predict trends for venture capital investing, fundraising, and exits across healthtech, biopharma, diagnostics/tools (dx/tools), and device sectors in the US. Having said so, its latest report also spares a thought for China.
Founded in 1983, Sillicon Valley Bank’s s rise up the ranks stems from conceiving commercial banking for companies in the technology, life science and healthcare, private equity, and venture capital industries. The organization’s excellence in what it does can also be understood once you consider it is currently the a top 20 U.S. financial institution with more than $200 billion in assets.
“Despite a challenging fundraising environment, we continue to see encouraging signals across the market – particularly in AI investment across all sectors,” said Jackie Spencer, Head of Relationship Management for Life Science and Healthcare Banking at Silicon Valley Bank and author of the annual Healthcare Investments and Exits Mid -Year Report. “Healthtech is leading the way, with AI-related deals doubling over the past 12 months. New AI applications are helping to reduce administrative burdens and drive greater efficiency throughout the healthcare system.”
