Health IT Banks Record VC Cash In 2013

Big winners include mHealth sector

Health IT is where the money's at -- at least in 2013, which saw venture capital funding nearly double from the previous year, according to a new industry report released Monday.  
 
The Mercom Capital Group report highlighted VC and merger and acquisition activity for the healthcare IT market over the past year, and the numbers did not disappoint. 
 
Venture capital funding in the healthcare IT sector almost doubled, reaching $2.2 billion in 2013 across 571 deals, compared to $1.2 billion across 163 deals in 2012. The biggest recipient of VC dollars was the mobile health sector, which raised some $564 million. 
 
Healthcare IT also raised $648 million in debt and public market financings, bringing total corporate funding raised last year to almost $3 billion. VC funding dropped in Q4 2013 with $337 million in 147 deals compared to $737 million in 151 deals in Q3.