How to Raise for a Healthtech Startup in the UK (2026)
The regulatory, NHS and evidence steps that healthtech investors check, and the UK grants that can pay for them.
Why healthtech rounds are different
A healthtech company has to satisfy three audiences before revenue arrives: a regulator, a buyer inside the health system and the clinicians who use the product. Each one wants evidence, and evidence takes time and money.
Investors price that in. They will ask what your product is in regulatory terms, who pays for it and what proof you have that it works. A round that funds clear steps on each of those is easier to raise than one described as general growth.
This is general information, not financial, legal or regulatory advice.
Is your product a medical device?
Answer this first, because it sets the rest of the plan. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency says software, including AI, plays an essential part in health and social care, and that many of these products are regulated as medical devices or in vitro diagnostic devices.
GOV.UK guidance says all medical devices, including in vitro diagnostics, custom-made devices and systems or procedure packs, must be registered with the MHRA before being placed on the Great Britain market. Manufacturers based outside the UK must appoint a UK Responsible Person.
If your product is a device, write down its intended purpose in one careful sentence and get a regulatory adviser to confirm the classification. That sentence drives the evidence you need, and investors will ask to see it.
UKCA and CE marking timelines
Great Britain has its own product mark, the UKCA marking. GOV.UK notes that it is not recognised in the EU, the EEA or Northern Ireland, so a company selling in both markets needs to plan for both systems.
CE-marked devices can still be placed on the Great Britain market for now. The guidance, last updated on 20 February 2026, gives the cut-off as 30 June 2028 for devices under the older EU medical device directives, and 30 June 2030 for in vitro diagnostics under the EU directive and for devices under the EU Medical Device and IVD Regulations. An earlier certificate expiry date applies if it comes first.
Those dates matter in a pitch. If you hold a CE certificate, show investors how long it lets you sell in Great Britain and when you will move to the UK route.
Selling to the NHS: DTAC and the people who can help
For digital products sold into the NHS, the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria is the baseline. NHS England describes it as an assessment framework for care commissioners and providers to use when assuring digital health technology products. It covers clinical safety, data protection, technical security, interoperability, and usability and accessibility.
The form was refreshed in February 2026 with 25% fewer questions, and NHS England says the previous version should not be used from 6 April 2026 onwards. I'd complete the current form before the raise and put it in the data room, since buyers will ask for it and investors will ask whether you have done it.
Two free services help you find your way. The NHS Innovation Service offers a free review of your needs and matches you with organisations that can help. The health innovation networks, 15 across England, connect NHS organisations, academia and industry to spread innovation. In my view a named contact at your local network is the best first step into the system.
Grants that pay for evidence
The National Institute for Health and Care Research runs Invention for Innovation, known as i4i, for medical devices, in vitro diagnostics and digital health technologies. Product Development Awards run twice a year with no maximum award and last up to 36 months. i4i Connect is for small and medium-sized companies and offers £50,000 to £150,000 over six to twelve months. i4i FAST runs themed calls of typically £15,000 to £50,000 over three to six months.
SBRI Healthcare, supported by NHS England in partnership with the Health Innovation Network, funds early-stage innovations to test business feasibility and develop technology, in phases. Check its competitions page for calls that match your product.
Innovate UK grants are open to health companies too, and our Innovate UK guide explains how those work. Grant income lets you reach a clinical milestone with less dilution, and I'd show it as its own line in the plan.
Tax schemes and R&D relief
SEIS and EIS are open to healthtech companies that meet the usual conditions. One exclusion to know: HMRC's list of excluded activities includes operating nursing homes and residential care homes, so a business that provides care directly should check its position.
A research-heavy healthtech startup may qualify as a knowledge-intensive company for EIS. From 6 April 2026 that raises the company limits to £20 million a year and £40 million over a lifetime. The tests in section 252A of the Income Tax Act 2007 look at the share of operating costs spent on research and development or innovation, plus either intellectual property creation or the share of skilled employees.
On R&D tax relief, loss-making SMEs whose relevant R&D spending is at least 30% of total expenditure can claim enhanced R&D intensive support, with a payable credit worth up to 14.5% of the surrenderable loss. A company running studies before it has revenue may meet that test.
What investors want to see
I'd prepare four short documents. A regulatory plan: classification, route, timeline and cost. An evidence plan: what studies you have run, what is next and what each will prove. A commercial plan: who the buyer is, what budget pays for the product and how long procurement takes. A data plan: how you handle patient data and where it is held.
Pilots are useful, and a pilot that converts to a paid contract is far more useful. Say plainly how many pilots you have, how many became contracts and what the customer measured.
Clinical voices help. A named clinical lead on the team or advisory board, with time committed, answers the question of whether clinicians will use the product.
Design the round around milestones
Tie the round to steps a later investor will recognise: device registered, DTAC complete, first NHS contract, study published. Cost each one and add a margin for regulatory and procurement steps that run late.
Mix your funding sources. Equity from angels and specialist funds, grant funding for studies and R&D tax relief can all sit in one plan. Show each line separately so investors can see what their money buys.
Specialist investors save time. An angel who has been a clinician or sold into the NHS will understand your sales cycle in the first meeting, and a ranked list of investors with health deals in the last 12 months is the place to start.
See which UK investors fit you
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Find my investorsSources
- MHRA: Software and artificial intelligence as a medical device
- GOV.UK: Regulating medical devices in the UK
- NHS England: Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC)
- NHS Innovation Service
- Health Innovation Network South London
- NIHR: Invention for Innovation (i4i)
- SBRI Healthcare
- HMRC Venture Capital Schemes Manual: excluded activities (VCM3010)
- GOV.UK: EIS and VCT changes, investment limit increase and restructure
- Income Tax Act 2007, section 252A
- HMRC: R&D tax relief, the merged scheme and ERIS