Beyond Funding: Evidence and Partnerships Give DiMe Seal Ventures the Edge

In the fast-paced world of digital health, credibility, validation, and trust are the key differentiators between ventures that thrive and those that falter. Over the past 12 months, the DiMe Seal award has emerged as one of the most credible markers of quality, rigour, and partnership potential in the US digital health market. A comparative look at the performance of the DiMe Seal cohort against the broader US ecosystem reveals not only the Seal’s importance but also the growing value it offers to startups, investors, and partners alike.

What is the DiMe Seal award?

The DiMe Seal award is an independent designation granted by the Digital Medicine Society (DiMe) to digital health ventures that meet strict standards for evidence, transparency, and clinical validity. Startups must demonstrate robust science, responsible data practices, and patient-centred outcomes to earn the Seal. In an ecosystem often challenged by hype and uneven evidence, the DiMe Seal serves as a quality filter, helping payers, providers, patients, investors, and regulators identify solutions that are both trustworthy and scalable.

As DiMe has emphasised, “The Seal is a must for startups looking to build sustainable partnerships. It signals that a company has done the hard work to build a product ready for prime time.”

The DiMe–Galen Growth Partnership

To measure the impact of the DiMe Seal, DiMe has partnered with Galen Growth, the leading business intelligence platform for digital health innovation. Galen Growth’s HealthTech Alpha captures data from over 50,000 ventures and more than 1 billion data points, tracking investment, partnerships, clinical evidence, and regulatory signals.

Through this collaboration, DiMe contributes its scientific and regulatory expertise while Galen Growth provides the data depth and analytical tools. Together, they can benchmark the DiMe Seal cohort against the broader ecosystem — enabling both startups and industry stakeholders to see the measurable impact of holding the Seal.

As Julien de Salaberry, CEO of Galen Growth, notes: “The DiMe Seal award is a marker of quality that translates into market traction. Our analysis shows Seal-holding ventures consistently outperform their peers on key measures of evidence and partnership growth.”

The Ecosystem at a Glance

Looking at the past 12 months, stark contrasts emerge between the DIME SEAL APPROVED cohort and the broader US digital health ecosystem:

Source: Galen Growth, powered by HealthTech Alpha

This shift to per capita numbers alters the perspective: while the US ecosystem produces far larger totals, DiMe Seal-awarded ventures outperform in terms of activity intensity and evidence generation.

Evidence and Validation: Quality over Quantity

Evidence is the cornerstone of the DiMe Seal, and the per-venture comparisons prove its value.

• The DiMe Seal cohort averages 3.9 publications per venture in 2025, compared with 1.3 for the broader US ecosystem.
• Normalised across 2020–2025, DiMe Seal-awarded ventures produced 14.4 publications, 1.8 clinical trials, and 3.1 regulatory approvals per venture.
• The US ecosystem equivalents are 8.2 publications, 0.4 trials, and 1.7 approvals per venture.

This demonstrates that DiMe Seal-awarded ventures are twice as evidence-rich and more likely to pursue clinical validation and regulatory clearance than the typical US digital health startup.

Partnerships: The Real Prize

Partnerships are the lifeblood of digital health commercialisation. Here, too, the Seal shows its impact.

• DiMe Seal-awarded ventures have forged 9.1 partnerships per venture, more than twice the US average of 4.2.
• In 2025 alone, Seal-approved ventures announced 0.6 new partnerships per venture, compared with 0.3 for US peers.

This isn’t accidental. The Seal is a trust signal. Corporations, payers, and providers recognise that S seal-holding ventures meet a higher evidence standard, making them lower-risk partners.

Investment Dynamics

Funding is the only area where per-venture intensity naturally tilts toward the US ecosystem.

• Average per venture funding in 2025: US = USD 3.0 million, Dime Seal Approved = USD 0.9 million.
• However, DiMe Seal-awarded ventures stretch their dollars further, converting smaller rounds into disproportionately high levels of evidence and partnerships.

For investors, this highlights the Seal as a capital efficiency signal — proof that ventures can achieve more with less, reducing risk and burn.

Strategic Implications

Taken together, the data suggest three strategic implications:

1. The DiMe Seal filters for quality. Per venture, Seal-holding companies generate more science, validation, and partnerships.
2. Partnerships are the growth engine. DiMe Seal-awarded ventures are over twice as partnership-rich as US peers.
3. Capital efficiency matters. Even with smaller rounds, DiMe Seal-awarded ventures deliver outsized impact.

Meet Us at HLTH US 2025

The best way to learn more about the DiMe Seal is to meet the people behind it. We invite you to visit the DiMe Pavilion at HLTH US 2025 in Las Vegas this October, where Seal-approved ventures will showcase their innovations, and Galen Growth and DiMe will share fresh insights into the digital health ecosystem. This is the perfect opportunity to engage directly with ventures, investors, and partners shaping the future of digital medicine.

The Seal as a Market Differentiator

The DiMe Seal award is more than a badge. It is a market signal of rigour and readiness that improves the odds of success for digital health startups.

As Galen Growth and DiMe continue to collaborate, their combined data and standards will help shape a more transparent and evidence-driven digital health market. In a sector still learning to strike a balance between innovation and accountability, the Seal points the way forward.

The message for startups is clear: earning the DiMe Seal is not optional. It is fast becoming a must-have for credibility, partnerships, and long-term growth.

Plan Your HLTH USA 2025 Experience

To make the most of your time at HLTH USA 2025, explore the full list of startups exhibiting and participating in the conference — available exclusively on HealthTech Alpha, the leading intelligence platform for digital health innovation. This comprehensive list, curated and verified by Galen Growth, enables you to plan effective networking, discover high-potential ventures, and identify emerging trends shaping the US digital health landscape.

You can also filter using the “DiMe Seal” tag to instantly identify ventures that have earned the DiMe Seal of Approval, standing out for their evidence-based excellence and partnership readiness.

How to Contact Us

For more information about the DiMe Seal or the insights shared here:

• Contact Galen Growth: info@galengrowth.com
• Contact DiMe: hello@dimesociety.org

We look forward to continuing the conversation.