Listen to this articleThe Greater Baltimore Committee on Tuesday announced a major collaboration between Baltimore‘s most prominent health and research institutions to support early-stage startups developing artificial intelligence-driven health care solutions.
The University of Maryland Medical System, the University of Maryland Baltimore and MedStar Health have joined CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield and Johns Hopkins as anchor collaborators for Techstars AI Health Baltimore, GBC said in a release. This collaborative effort marks the first time these institutions have joined forces in a single accelerator.
Techstars, a global startup accelerator and venture capital firm, provides capital, mentorship and support to early-stage entrepreneurs through three-month accelerator programs. Techstars AI Health Baltimore is the company’s health care flagship accelerator.
“This is a milestone moment for Baltimore’s innovation economy,” GBC President and CEO Mark Anthony Thomas said.
“Our region’s major health systems, payer and academic leader are aligned around a single accelerator to help founders turn promising ideas into scalable solutions, strengthening healthcare delivery and Baltimore’s long-term economic competitiveness.”
Techstars AI Health Baltimore aims to leverage Baltimore’s concentration of hospitals, research institutions and healthcare talent, according to GBC. The program runs two 13-week cohorts every year, supporting startups that build solutions across various health care specialties.
The next cohort will begin its accelerator program on March 10, a GBC release says.
“As anchor collaborators, UMMS, UMB, MedStar Health, CareFirst and Johns Hopkins will engage directly with participating startups, offering insight into clinical workflows, payer dynamics, research translation and system-level implementation to help founders demonstrate value and accelerate adoption,” GBC said in a statement.
The 13-week program will culminate with Demo Day set for June at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium. This event will feature special presentations from participating founders, remarks from guest speakers, live startup pitches, networking and more.
