2020 has been a big year for healthtech companies due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, from major IPOs, to massive company funding rounds and a stream of new startup launches. But when you’re in the business of saving lives, a crowded industry isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
The latest healthtech company to join the fray is Seattle-based startup Truveta. Its CEO Terry Myerson, a former Microsoft executive, announced the company’s launch this week in a blog post.
Truveta’s slogan is “Saving Lives With Data.” Although the company’s website is still sparse, Myserson describes the role that health data can play in improving outcomes for patients.
There’s a massive amount of health data out there, from electronic health records to clinical trial data. Truveta says that as much as 2,314 exabytes of new data will be generated this year alone, which is a huge jump from the 153 exabytes of data generated in 2013. But a lot of this data is fragmented and underutilized. Truveta hopes to take a data science approach in order to analyze this data and use what it learns to find better methods of treatment, diagnosis and care.
Before Truveta, Myerson spent 21 years working at Microsoft, eventually gaining the role of executive vice president. At Microsoft, he worked on the development of Windows, Surface, Xbox and Office 365. He also has experience in the Seattle VC world as a strategic director with Madrona Venture Group and operating executive for The Carlyle Group.
Although healthtech is a somewhat new field for him, he has a personal connection to the company’s mission.
“Having lost my father to cancer at a young age, I learned early on the tragedy of loss. I am grateful at this point in my career to focus my efforts on my passion to help patients and their families,” Myerson wrote in a blog post. “Many on our team have similar stories of loss or current circumstances that have inspired them to contribute their talents to Truveta.”
The company is young and the team is still small, but Truveta is actively hiring. Currently, there are over a dozen open roles on the company’s website, including some key positions like director of engineering, VP of communication, VP of product marketing and a chief ethics and compliance officer. Non-leadership positions are open as well. Myerson hopes to recruit people who are interested in furthering its mission to save lives.
