Why the Hinge Health IPO is so important for digital health

Hinge Health has filed for an initial public offering, and the whole industry is talking about it. There hasn’t been an IPO in the category for a while, not since Waystar, the practice management software company that went public in the summer of 2024. Before then, there was very little activity for a few years, making Livongo’s $18.5 billion sale to Teladoc seem like a blip.

So what do I think about the Hinge IPO? Well, I spent the morning calling up friends in the industry - bankers, researchers, analysts and investors - to get their take on it. I also read Hospitology’s fantastic analysis, which pointed to one big question: Valuation. VCs previously valued Hinge at $6.2 billion in 2021 — will public market investors place that high of a premium on the business?

Hinge, if you’re not familiar, delivers virtual physical therapy to people, potentially in lieu of expensive surgeries. It sells its services to health plans and employers, with an eye towards growth in Medicare. The big competition includes companies like Sword and Vori Health.