Meet the 34 healthcare startups investors say will take off in 2022

After an unprecedented 2021, 2022 is expected to be an inflection point for healthcare startups.

While over the last year, many digital health companies soared to sky-high valuations, it was a bad year for biotech sector which was down 19% by the end of the year.

But 2022 is poised to shake things up. Insider's healthcare team interviewed 18 top healthcare investors to learn what startups they think will take off next year.

We asked the investors to name companies from their firms' portfolios, as well as ones they haven't invested in. We noted when investors have stakes in the companies they nominated.

Some investors picked companies that are on at the very beginning stages of human drug testing, like Artios and Haystack Oncology. Others, like Daybreak and Equip Health, focused on mental health.

The investors also picked companies that are targeting underserved communities, like African genetics company 54gene or Health In Her HUE, which provides culturally competent healthcare for women.

Still more thought that the trend of telehealth and virtual care, popularized during the pandemic, will continue to soar.

And these were only part of their full predictions for what will happen in healthcare this year.