Amazon delivers first UK ‘healthcare tech accelerator’

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has teamed up with leading European government-focused technology company PUBLIC to launch its first UK healthcare tech accelerator programme.

The first UK-based cohort of 10 technology start-ups aiming to enter the healthcare sector will join the AWS Healthcare Accelerator in January following a pitching process. The chosen 10 companies will receive more than 50 hours of mentoring support, AWS resources & promotional credit and opportunities for collaboration with AWS healthcare customers.

Rowland Illing, chief medical officer for international public sector health at Amazon, said: “Embracing digital health innovations has enabled the NHS to deliver a world-leading vaccination programme showing their inherent talent and collaborative, patient-centric capacity to transform at pace.

“Now, their focus moves to tackling backlogs in elective care, continuing to implement the NHS Long Term Plan, and focusing on transformation of services to support NHS resilience. At the same time, the health and care system is seeking to optimise the proliferating volume of healthcare data to further improve patient outcomes and operational decisions.

“To support both high-potential healthcare startups and the UK healthcare system’s demand for these types of solutions, we are excited to announce the launch of the AWS Healthcare Accelerator programme in the UK.”

AWS has previously run similar healthcare accelerator programmes in the US, and expects the companies selected to accelerate growth in the cloud focusing on healthcare solutions like remote patient monitoring, voice technology, analytics, virtual care and patient engagement while also lowering the cost of care.

PUBLIC chief executive Daniel Korski said the programme would help “move from many great new ideas that have emerged [during the pandemic] to a patient-supporting reality.”

Alongside the UK-focused healthcare accelerator, Amazon has also this week launched a new global AWS Energy Competency Program to “support the transition to a more sustainable energy future”.

At launch, the program will feature 32 global partners who will work with AWS to help develop a new program for energy producers to create a portfolio that includes sustainable and renewable energy assets.One partner is AI video analytics provider Unleash Live who have supplied wind farm, solar parks, hydropower and natural gas specialist Worsley with drones and computer vision for its inspections.

To continue the conversation join us at Critical Communications Network - the new online community for the sector