Venture capital’s big bet: General Catalyst to buy Ohio’s Summa Health in quest to transform healthcare
Image: Summa Health
In a massive development for the healthcare sector, renowned venture capital firm General Catalyst, has announced plans to buy Akron’s Summa Health, a nonprofit healthcare system serving Northeast Ohio.
In their announcement, General Catalyst said of their motivation, “the focus isn't on taking costs out ... it's on putting innovation in (we intend to build modern, tech-enabled healthcare delivery platforms at scale, across all points of care).”
General Catalyst announced in October 2023 the creation of a new business: Health Assurance Transformation Corporation (HATCo). The new venture’s mission is to assist healthcare systems in providing a significantly improved experience for consumers and showcase transformative impact through collaboration among technologists, caregivers, and capital.
HATco was built with three areas of focus: guiding health systems through transformation, catalyzing the health assurance ecosystem, and acquiring a health system for a lasting impact. Now, enter the acquisition of Summa Health.
About Summa Health
Summa Health is one of Ohio’s largest healthcare systems with over 30 locations in the Akron/Canton region, 8,000 employees, and almost 1,000 physicians. Summa’s annual revenue is nearly $2 billion.
About the purchase
Terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but Summa Health will be converted from a non-profit to a for-profit health system. Forbes has reported that General Catalyst had planned to spend $1 billion to $3 billion on the purchase.
Why this matters to Ohio
Ohio is a global leader in healthcare and a hub for cutting-edge medical and life science innovation, research, and patient care. Now, a major venture capital investor with a significant track record of investing in healthcare startups will partner with an Ohio-based health system on a "long-term journey together to reshape and improve the future of healthcare delivery."
This is an opportunity for significant healthcare transformation and making Ohio a major home for HealthTech startups.