These digital health startups sowed Q3's biggest seeds

Bucking the larger recent downward trend in fundraising, several digital health startups clinched double-digit seed-stage raises in the third quarter of 2022, per new data from CB Insights.

Why it matters: Even seedlings have their standouts. Although investors generally responded to this year's tumultuous market by eschewing large fundraising rounds, some startups still managed to score big early rounds, the data show.

Among those companies were several hybrid care businesses catering to a specific condition or population.

The big question: Is it even a seed if it's $32 million?

Details: Six companies raised so-called seed rounds exceeding $10 million in Q3 '22. Among them was this trio of hybrid care businesses:

• Rippl Care, a dementia-focused startup offering therapy, medication management and remote monitoring, raised a whopping $32 million in September.
• Psych Hub, a company founded by former Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy that bills itself the Angie's List of mental health, got $16 million in August.
• Caraway Health, a virtual reproductive and mental health startup focused on college-aged women, collected $10.5 million in July.

By the numbers: With investors generally avoiding later-stage deals, early-stage deals made up 60% of digital health deals in 2022 year to date, per CB Insights. Meanwhile:

• Mid-stage deals represented 16% of the year's activity.
• Late-stage deals constituted 10% of deals.
• Other raises, such as extension rounds, made up the remaining 14%.

💭 Our thought bubble: With exit options murky as the public markets continue to roil, we're not surprised to see so many early-stage checks.