Earlier this year, Tom Stanis was puzzling through what was next for his startup Story Health, which helps providers care for people with heart failure. The company had some big-name customers and plans to expand, but it last raised money in 2022. Stanis saw two options: shake more cash out of a stingy venture capital market, or sell.

Armed with $275 million in fresh funding and a built-in customer base, artificial intelligence company Innovaccer made the answer easy. It gobbled up Story Health for an undisclosed mix of equity and cash in September. 

Story Health is the fourth Innovaccer acquisition in about a year as it aims to become the default AI platform for health systems. CEO Abhinav Shashank plans to rapidly expand and to “accelerate that development through M&A,” he told STAT.

Innovaccer’s shopping spree is just one example of a trend playing out in digital health: big, well-funded companies with momentum are snapping up smaller players.

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