Paris-based startup studio, Hexa, recently received a surge of funding totaling $22 million. Exciting news calls for exciting ventures, and Hexa is now launching a new vertical, solely focused on advancing the healthcare system. Julien Méraud, a prominent member of the French unicorn startup, Doctolib, will be joining the team at the startup studio.
Originally known as eFounders, Hexa initially centered on B2B software-as-a-service projects. The studio generates startup ideas, pairs them with suitable founders, and provides essential resources such as funding and a core team to help these startups get off the ground.
As time passes, the startups eventually “graduate” from Hexa and embark on their independent journeys, with the startup studio still retaining a stake in their ventures. Some noteworthy startups that have grown from Hexa’s guidance include Front, Aircall, and Spendesk.
As Hexa ventures into new verticals, the startup studio is also reevaluating its strategies. With the focus on healthcare, Hexa not only welcomes Julien Méraud, but also a full-time medical doctor who will offer invaluable insights when assessing future projects.
For each healthtech startup, Hexa seeks out two co-founders: a doctor with expertise in a particular specialty and hands-on experience, and an operational founder with the knowledge and skills to scale companies.
Hexa Health adopts a vertical approach, with each company targeting a specific pathology. The first two startups to emerge from the studio will concentrate on weight loss and skin cancer detection.
“The idea is to have a CEO and a CTO – similar to most startups. This is a common trend among all Hexa companies. However, in this specific vertical, we believe healthcare innovation should be led by doctors. In other words, if you were to ask me to design the perfect method for detecting skin cancer, I wouldn’t have the capability to do so. That’s why we want to collaborate with doctors on every innovation,” Méraud explains.
Méraud emphasizes that Hexa’s goal is not to revolutionize the healthcare industry as a whole. With this new vertical, the startup studio aims to identify inefficiencies and enhance care pathways, as the aging population in Europe continues to grow, and medical resources become increasingly scarce.
“Technology shouldn’t just enable quicker care. It should also facilitate better care. That’s why we’ll pay close attention to measuring the medical quality of care and everything we develop,” Méraud states.
