The 253rd Club Gathering. Safe Bets in Healthcare: Where to Invest in 2026 concluded on January 29, 2026. It brought together a global group of venture capitalists, family offices, and strategic investors. As the industry navigates a complicated macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape, the discussion centered on one pressing question: What are the "safe bets" for healthcare investment in 2026?
The consensus was clear: while no early-stage investment is truly "safe," capital is increasingly flowing toward pragmatic innovation. Investors are moving beyond the broad "AI hype" of previous years, focusing instead on specific tools that reduce costs, increase clinical productivity, and address the pressing needs of an aging global population.
Redefining "Safe": Predictability Over Innovation
A key insight was the shifting definition of safety toward sectors that have more predictable pathways. John Abeles, General Partner at Northlea Partners LLLP, highlighted this by contrasting medtech with biopharma: “Medical devices are much more predictable… safer in the sense that engineering around problems is possible whereas in biopharma it is not. You have to start again if your drug comes up in problems.” This perspective suggest a broader preference for iterative engineering over binary scientific bets, especially in a tighter capital environment.
The Ultimate De-risker: Betting on Teams
Beyond the sector, investors emphasized that resilience is often found in the founding team. Pasi Pohjala, Founder and CEO at ATG Consulting, noted that during challenges, “the good team then can find all the new ways that go around these small obstacles.” This “jockey, not the horse” philosophy, as echoed by Robert Herszog, Managing Partner at Breaking Wave Capital, positions a capable team as the primary risk mitigator in an inherently risky field.
Focal Points for Pragmatic Capital in 2026
This framework of pragmatic, team-centric investing is focusing capital on a few key areas:
- Solutions for Demographics: The aging population is creating non-negotiable demand. Anneliese Sound, Managing Director at Future Potential Management, pointed to the strain in Western Europe and China, predicting “a shift also in more productive devices regarding elderly care in future.”
- AI with Proprietary Data: The AI narrative has evolved from general application to competitive advantage. Manuk Hergnyan, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Granada's Ventures, is optimistic about “companies that are generating proprietary data sources… and then modeling that using advanced AI models.” The "safe" angle here is the defensible moat created by unique data.
- Weight Management and Chronic Disease: The commercial validation of the GLP-1 market has spotlighted adjacent opportunities. Ambuj Mathur, Managing Partner at Indite Ventures LLP, identified “things like GLP1 and weight loss stuff” as a safer bet, extending to generics and supportive care solutions.
Conclusion: Safety is a Strategy, Not a Guarantee
The collective insight is that in 2026, “safe bets” are less about avoiding risk and more about intelligent de-risking. As Carl Jones, Founder of Inhite Ventures, summarized, “Nothing is safe investment. I think it's just a smart investment.” That smart money seeks predictability in medtech, resilience in exceptional teams, and clear demand in addressing aging and chronic disease. In today's healthcare investing, resilience is the closest equivalent to safety.
