OSF Ventures launches third and largest venture capital fund


OSF Ventures launches third and largest venture capital fund

PEORIA, Ill., PRNewswire -- OSF Ventures has launched
its third capital investment fund, the largest since it initiated this
program in 2016. The $100 million fund will be used to continue
a strategy that links investments to key priorities of improved patient care, outcomes and greater operational efficiency. The third fund brings total assets under management in the venture program to $250 million.

OSF Ventures is part of the Innovation strategy of OSF HealthCare, a 15-hospital system in Illinois and Michigan. Investments are focused on digital solutions, tech-enabled services and medical technology, including medical devices,
diagnostics and therapeutics.

The corporate investment arm of OSF HealthCare has made 26 direct investments to-date, plus it has invested in three health care-focused venture capital funds. Of the direct investments, the program has experienced nine successful exits, and today manages an active portfolio of 17 companies.

Stan Lynall, vice president of Venture Investments, and his
seven-person team have worked at an astounding pace, even
during the pandemic. Since launching its first venture capital
fund, the OSF Ventures team has vetted close to 1,500 opportunities.

“Our actual hands-on use in piloting the technology, or collaborating in other ways, is what we value in the process. This
allows us to provide meaningful feedback that results in our portfolio companies developing successful solutions that are really
valuable to our patient base,” said Lynall. “Scaling investments
through partnerships and practical collaborations with budding
tech companies from across the globe helps us bring emerging
health care solutions to OSF HealthCare clinics and hospitals,
most often before they are broadly marketed and deployed.”

Managing the digital transformation in health care and
integrating products and solutions into clinical operations requires
executive and clinical leaders to be engaged. Lynall stressed, “We
are fortunate to have leaders who are highly committed to Innovation at OSF HealthCare.”

An example of a very successful clinical integration involved
a collaboration that led OSF HealthCare to pilot and then fully
implement SilverCloud, a behavioral health platform with
online and app-based modules to help individuals dealing
with mild to moderate stress, anxiety, and depression. OSF
was an early adopter and within three years, the number of people benefitting from enrolling has expanded to 7,000.

Michelle Conger, chief strategy officer and CEO of OSF OnCall Digital Health, is an Innovation champion.

“Entrepreneurs appreciate early adoption of their technology
and we value having access to the best, cutting edge solutions,”
said Conger. “For example, we had a head start in the early days
of the pandemic, because we had already vetted solutions and
had strategically planned for implementing several of the new
communication tools we deployed, albeit at an accelerated pace.
We were prepared because of our long-range Innovation plan,
including important investments and collaborations through OSF
Ventures.”

OSF Innovation, launched in 2016, is the overall umbrella
initiative for the planning, structure, goals and services OSF
HealthCare uses to innovate for the improvement and transformation of health care. More information at www.osfinnovation.org.

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