Tampa Bay Wave Announces 2026 HealthTech|X Cohort, First in Partnership with Vanderbilt Health

Fifteen behavioral health and addiction startups will participate in first-ever dual-city Accelerator programming across the Tampa and Nashville ecosystems

Tampa, Fla., Oct. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Tampa Bay Wave today announced the 15 companies selected for its 2026 HealthTech|X Accelerator, the first cohort developed in partnership with the Brock Family Center for Applied Innovation at Vanderbilt Health and Brock Recovery Group.

The 2026 HealthTech|X Accelerator brings together startups focused on Behavioral Health and Addiction while connecting two major healthcare ecosystems. For the first time in Wave’s history, Accelerator programming will span two cities, beginning in Tampa on Oct. 26, 2026, before continuing in Nashville the week of Nov. 2. A welcome reception will be held in Tampa on Oct. 28.

The 2026 HealthTech|X cohort includes:

• Aria (Seattle): A digital health company expanding access to behavioral healthcare.

• CARI Health, Inc. (San Diego): Developing rapid medication monitoring to support personalized methadone dosing and treatment retention.

• Eiro Inc. (Nashville, Tenn.): Building infrastructure to support value-based behavioral healthcare.

• Elevare Health (Boston): Providing clinical AI infrastructure to extend maternal healthcare beyond the clinic.

• Happy: Frictionless Mental Health (New Orleans): Providing proactive, human-led mental health support through dedicated Support Givers.

• Huml Health (Bentonville, Ark.): Using wearables to make behavioral health measurable and help providers identify warning signs early.

• Innsightful (Sunnyvale, Calif.): Developing technology to support behavioral health assessment and care.

• Kivira (New York): Integrating behavioral health assessment, treatment guidance and progress tracking into primary care workflows.

• Laptis (Boston): Using AI to connect people with substance use disorders to the appropriate level of care.

• Outro Health (New York): Providing clinician-guided, evidence-based care for patients safely tapering off antidepressants.

• Pathroot Health (Salem, S.C.): Helping addiction treatment programs engage families to support admissions, retention and referrals.

• Psyrin (San Francisco): Automating clinical evaluations to help behavioral health providers expand patient capacity.

• Seek Health (New York): Providing operational intelligence to help healthcare facilities improve clinical coordination and patient flow.

• SpaceRx (Reston, Va.): Developing treatments for nicotine addiction and opioid-induced respiratory failure.

• Thrive Genetics (Broomall, Penn.): Using AI and genetic, behavioral and environmental data to identify addiction risk and support prescribing decisions.

Through the Vanderbilt Health collaboration, participating companies will have access to researchers, clinicians, informaticists and health system leaders, as well as opportunities to explore clinical research partnerships, technology transfer and licensing of university technologies.

“HealthTech innovation depends on strong connections between founders and the people who understand the challenges they’re trying to solve,” said Linda Olson, president and CEO of Tampa Bay Wave. “By bringing Tampa and Nashville together through this program, we’re giving these companies access to two healthcare ecosystems and a broader network of expertise, relationships and opportunities that can help them build and scale.”

The Accelerator will feature in-person session weeks in both Tampa and Nashville, supported by virtual engagement between sessions. Programming will culminate in pitch nights in each market and a remote Demo Day in January 2027. The two-market model will connect participating founders with investors, healthcare leaders, researchers and potential partners across both communities.

“Vanderbilt Health and the Brock Family Center for Applied Innovation are excited to collaborate with Tampa Bay Wave to welcome innovative behavioral health and addiction-focused startups into the HealthTech|X cohort. Together, we look forward to connecting founders with Nashville’s vibrant healthcare innovation ecosystem and providing exposure to Vanderbilt Health’s world-class clinical, research, and entrepreneurial resources to accelerate their business progress,”said Ken Holroyd, MD, MBA, Director of Brock Family Center.

The expansion to Nashville builds on Wave’s existing healthcare ecosystem in Tampa Bay, which includes majors like: Tampa General Hospital, BayCare, Advent, USF Health, Moffitt Cancer Center and the Tampa Medical Research District, along with a number of community health providers.

“This cohort represents exactly why we wanted to build HealthTech|X across Tampa and Nashville,” said Dr. Richard Munassi, MD, MBA, Accelerator Managing Director, Tampa Bay Wave. “Some of the biggest issues our society faces in both behavioral health and addiction and being tackled by these companies and it takes world class founders to do it; this group definitely has them, with cohort founder backgrounds including premier academic institutions such as Vanderbilt, West Point, MIT, UC San Diego, Cal Berkeley, Yale, Harvard, Columbia University in the City of New York, Oxford, King’s College, NYU, University of Chicago, University of Virginia, and more. Their work experience/backgrounds are just as impressive, including NASA, Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Uber, Visa, SAP, Bristol-Myers Squibb, the US Army, and more. We are proud to support these founders now and into the future, and to welcome them to our portfolio.”

For more information about the 2026 HealthTech|X Accelerator, visit tampabaywave.org/healthtech/.

About Tampa Bay Wave

Tampa Bay Wave, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing entrepreneurs with facilitated access to the resources, expertise and capital they need to grow vibrant technology-based companies in Tampa Bay. Since 2013, Tampa Bay Wave has supported more than 670 tech startups that have raised more than $2 billion in capital, created more than 7,600 jobs and completed 34 exits, driving an estimated $450 million in annual economic impact, thanks to grant funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), plus support from its economic development partners Hillsborough County, Pasco County, and the City of Tampa. Tampa Bay Wave also receives support from individuals, corporations and foundations such as: A-LIGN, Appspace, Bank of America, Celestar, Delta Air Lines/Virgin Atlantic Airlines, Florida High Tech Corridor, Foley & Lardner, Justworks, Kuducom, Nielsen Foundation, NextPath Workforce Solutions, Regions Foundation, St. Petersburg College, TECO, Thoropass, the University of South Florida, Vanderbilt Health and others. In 2026, Tampa Bay Wave was ranked the #3 accelerator in the U.S. and #1 in Florida by TIME. For more information, visit tampabaywave.org.

About Vanderbilt Health

Vanderbilt Health, a growing academic health system headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the largest and most prominent academic systems in the Southeast, providing patient care, conducting research and training the next generation of health professionals. With 43,000 employees, including 4,930 employed clinicians, Vanderbilt Health accommodated more than 3.5 million patient visits last year at its eight hospitals and 180-plus clinic locations. In 2025, Vanderbilt Health contributed $22.13 billion to the regional economy while also providing more than $1 billion in total community benefit and investment including patient financial assistance, medical research, health professional education, community grants and unreimbursed costs for government health programs. For more information, visit VanderbiltHealth.com.