Healthcare startups often experience challenges in raising early-stage seed funding because of their higher risk profile with new technologies and the limited number of investors active at that stage. This is especially true in emerging markets.
Many countries across Latin America face health investments below the levels recommended for optimal care. This shortfall can impact the quality of healthcare services, leading to geographic disparities and economic barriers for patients.
Johnson & Johnson Foundation’s growing collaboration with Village Capital supports impact-driven, early-stage startups through sector-specific accelerators and has become one of our most dynamic mechanisms for improving the ecosystem of healthcare innovation. These short-term, cohort-based programs provide integrated mentorship, funding, networking opportunities and other resources to support rapid development, scale and investment-readiness for early-stage startups.
Last year, J&J Foundation launched its fourth accelerator with Village Capital—the Innovations in Health LatAm accelerator program to support startups seeking to improve healthcare access and enhance quality care delivery in Latin America. We’re excited to announce the 10 innovative companies selected for their creativity and commitment to developing groundbreaking solutions to address critical health challenges across the region.
Based in Brazil, AfroSaúde is a logistics and medical device services company that leverages technology to connect patients to health and wellness solutions with an empathetic and inclusive approach. AfroSaúde’s digital health platform is helping to bridge gaps in access to health services by connecting patients to healthcare professionals, drug stores, gyms and other resources across all Brazilian regions and demographics.
Limited access to healthcare often leads to delayed diagnosis and insufficient monitoring of hypertension, increasing the risk of preventable complications like strokes and heart attacks. Cardiotrack aims to bridge this healthcare gap with CardioStation®, a remote monitoring device, empowering patients with real-time insights and reducing the burden on the healthcare system. Based in Mexico, the company aims to expand to Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia over the next 18 months.
Combining AI and big data, Epiliquid offers a non-invasive, cost-effective liquid biopsy platform that makes cancer detection accessible to everyone by reducing technological barriers for implementation. Based in Argentina, Epiliquid provides a more convenient, affordable solution that aims to be universally accessible and adaptable to different types of cancers, each with its unique detection challenges.
Chronic diseases like cancer and diabetes cause 75% of deaths in Brazil, primarily due to delayed detection. Huna’s cloud-based AI platform is designed to assist both small clinics and large hospital networks in the early detection of cancer from routine blood tests. This Brazilian company aims to empower healthcare systems, improve patient outcomes, and reduce the economic burden of late-stage treatments by making early detection affordable and accessible to all.
Treatments to immune-mediated diseases are difficult to access in Brazil, due to a lack of specialized professionals and high-cost medications. Kintsu developed Bioplanner, a user-friendly online platform that helps doctors diagnose existing immune-mediated diseases using only clinical data. The platform also helps doctors determine and prescribe the right medication, dosage and regulatory documentation needed to help patients access the treatment.
Conditions like type 1 diabetes or infertility that rely on painful, frequent injections are costly to produce and cause patient discomfort, leading to high levels of treatment abandonment. The need for cold storage and specialized handling also makes injectables difficult to sustain in infrastructure-limited settings. Argentina-based Panarum developed Proteoral®, an oral solution that can be tailored to deliver over 150 active biologic compounds, providing a simpler and cheaper alternative to both injectable and medical device-based methods for pharmaceutical applications.
Over 70% of breast cancer deaths occur due to late detection. Salva Health’s AI-powered Julieta is a portable, non-invasive device that can identify women at risk of breast cancer that is more cost-effective and easier to use, making it accessible in more areas. The Colombian-based company expects to expand regionally in the next 6–12 months, with pilots currently being planned in Peru and Mexico.
Based in Brazil and the U.S., Sofya is an AI-driven platform exclusively designed for healthcare purposes that transcribes consultations, structures data and populates medical records, integrating seamlessly with client platforms and electronic medical record systems. By automating documentation and other bureaucratic and repetitive tasks, the company aims to help doctors focus more on patient care, while improving efficiency and reducing burnout and medical errors.
The first diagnostic test for neurodegenerative diseases Alzheimer's and Parkinson's is performed at 78 years old on average, reducing the possibility of early intervention. TELL uses AI and automated voice analysis technology to monitor brain health and detect neurodegenerative diseases through non-invasive, real-time assessments, before symptoms appear. Based in Argentina, TELL currently focuses on the Latin American and Spanish-speaking markets, and aims to expand into new markets and establish operations in Brazil and Colombia in the next 18 months.
Operating in Argentina, Teral provides doctors an AI-powered communication and collaboration mobile app tailored for medical professionals to showcase their specialties, share clinical cases, seek advice from specialists in real-time. With this platform, Teral aims to resolve cases at the primary care level and reduce unnecessary referrals to specialists, which can increase healthcare costs and delay diagnosis and treatment for patients.