Orlando Health Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Orlando Health Ventures (OHV) is the corporate venture capital arm of Orlando Health, one of Central Florida's largest nonprofit integrated healthcare systems. Founded in 2018 and based in Orlando, Florida, OHV invests in medtech, biotech, and healthcare services companies with the potential to improve patient outcomes and/or improve clinical and operational workflows across the health system. The fund is strategic first and financial second: it targets technologies that align directly with Orlando Health's own care-delivery priorities, giving portfolio companies a built-in path to pilot and validate inside a multistate health system rather than pure financial return-seeking.
Sector Focus
OHV concentrates on:
- Medical devices and therapeutic devices (IV delivery, dialysis, surgical monitoring)
- Digital health and clinical workflow software
- Biotech and life sciences companies with a clear clinical-trial or commercialization link to a health system
- Healthcare services companies with proven traction looking to expand into a multistate health system
The team notes it adds the most value to medtech and biotech companies that are past first-in-human (FIH) trials and are looking for clinical trial partners, and to services companies with proven traction looking to expand into a multistate system like Orlando Health.
Stage Focus
OHV prefers early-stage healthcare companies, generally participating from Series B onward as portfolio companies begin scaling commercially, though its stated preference is earlier-stage technologies with disruptive potential.
Check Size / Fund Size
OHV was launched as a dedicated $20M fund. Individual check sizes are not publicly disclosed; the fund typically participates alongside other strategic and financial co-investors rather than anchoring large rounds solo (exception: it co-led Quanta Dialysis Technologies' $245M Series D in June 2021).
Lead Tendency
OHV generally participates in syndicated rounds alongside other health-system venture arms (e.g., Rex Health Ventures, WakeMed, OSF Healthcare, Ballad Ventures) and financial investors, rather than leading rounds itself. It led or co-led at least one notable round (Vergent Bioscience's $21.5M Series B).
Recent Activity
- March 2026: Participated in Endogenex's oversubscribed $88M Series C to complete the pivotal ReCET clinical study for type 2 diabetes treatment, alongside Hatteras Venture Partners, Lumira Ventures, Intuitive Ventures, Longitude Capital, Mayo Clinic, and Santé Ventures.
- March 2025: Participated in 410 Medical's $14M Series B-II financing, led by Hatteras Venture Partners, alongside Ballad Ventures, OSF Healthcare, WakeMed, Rex Health Ventures, CU Healthcare Innovations Fund, and Sarnova.
- The fund has made roughly two dozen disclosed investments since 2018, concentrated in medical devices and digital health.
Portfolio Highlights
Notable exits:
- Health Catalyst — data analytics/digital health platform; went public via IPO in 2019.
- Phynd Technologies — healthcare provider data management SaaS; acquired by symplr in February 2021.
Active portfolio:
- 410 Medical (LifeFlow rapid IV medication/fluid delivery for emergency and critical care)
- Endogenex (endoscopic duodenal mucosal therapy for type 2 diabetes)
- EvidenceCare (point-of-care clinical decision support / BetterCare Platform)
- Gauss Surgical (AI-powered real-time blood loss monitoring)
- Quanta Dialysis Technologies (SC+ portable hemodialysis system)
- Vesalio (NeVa neurovascular stroke devices)
- Vergent Bioscience (fluorescence-guided tumor visualization; VGT-309 in Phase 2)
Team
- Bobby Helmedag, Managing Director — leads the fund's investment activity and sits within Orlando Health Strategic Innovations.
- Yuriy Onyskiv, Principal (Investment Principal) — sources and evaluates new medtech/digital health investments; has spoken publicly (Funding Medtech podcast, "Hospital Venture Group" series) about the fund's approach to early-stage healthcare investing.
Decision Process
OHV operates as part of Orlando Health Strategic Innovations, alongside The Foundry (the system's internal innovation and rapid-prototyping engine). This structure gives portfolio companies direct access to clinicians, operating executives, and service-line leaders for evaluation, piloting, and commercial validation — a key differentiator versus pure financial healthcare VCs. Decisions appear to run through a small internal investment team (Managing Director + Principal) with health-system stakeholder input given the strategic mandate.
Founder Preferences
OHV favors founders building medtech/biotech products that are past first-in-human trials and need a health-system partner for clinical trials or commercial piloting, or healthcare services companies with proven traction ready to expand into a large, multistate delivery system.
Geographic Focus
Headquartered in Orlando, Florida; invests nationally (portfolio companies span North Carolina, Minnesota, UK, and beyond) with a bias toward companies that can pilot within Orlando Health's Florida footprint.