As Omada goes public, executives reflect on why profits are elusive in digital health

Mario Aguilar covers technology in health care, including artificial intelligence, virtual reality, wearable devices, telehealth, and digital therapeutics. His stories explore how tech is changing the practice of health care and the business and policy challenges to realizing tech’s promise. He’s also the co-author of the free, twice weekly STAT Health Tech newsletter. You can reach Mario on Signal at mariojoze.13.

Fourteen years after launching to help make a dent in the United States’ swelling chronic disease problem, Omada Health went public on Friday, raising $150 million at just over a $1 billion valuation.

Before going public, Omada raised $450 million from investors as it helped normalize digital health and convinced an impressive number of people to try it. Omada has over 2,000 customers, including employers and health plans, and roughly 680,000 people enrolled in its programs.

Even so, the company is still losing money.