Denmark’s life science industry is a cornerstone of the Danish economy and a global innovation leader. In 2024, life science accounted for 20% of all Danish goods exports, amounting to €23 billion, a figure that has more than tripled since 2008. Venture capital activity has followed suit: investments in Danish life science startups have nearly tripled since 2018, reaching €391 million in 2024. By 2035, EIFO (the Danish Sovereign Fund) estimate that total VC investments will surpass €1.1 billion, with health tech expected to grow fastest, rising almost fivefold.
Despite a solid development and promising projections, many health tech startups still struggle to raise the funds they need. But, if the money and appetite are there, why are startups still left waiting?
To answer that question, BioInnovation Institute, Health Tech Hub Copenhagen and Danish Life Science Cluster commissioned Rambøll to conduct an international Investor Survey. Ninety-two health tech investors responded, representing a combined €14.7 billion in capital – with nearly one in three allocating more than 25% of their portfolio to health tech. So, investor appetite is clearly not the problem. Investability is.
Where the startups fall short
The survey highlights two core weaknesses that repeatedly prevent investments:
- Lack of market traction (cited by 60%)
- Unclear or unconvincing business models (cited by more than half of respondents)
Beyond this, the differences between investor types are striking:
- Business Angels focus on the people behind the company. Their biggest concern is whether the founding team has the necessary competencies.
- VCs are deterred primarily by insufficient traction.
But both groups agree that the second biggest barrier to invest is the lack of a convincing business model. Although, the findings are not surprising considering the usual stages that VCs and Business Angels invest in, the findings underlines the need for startups to tailor their strategy: prove team strength and a solid business model to attract angels and show clear evidence of early traction and a convincing/scalable business model to win over VCs.