athenahealth, Inc., a provider of network-enabled services for hospital and ambulatory clients nationwide, today announced the launch of MDP Labs, a new innovation program open to all healthcare and technology entrepreneurs, from seed-stage startups to mature companies. Hosted in the San Francisco office, the program invites all entrepreneurs with novel technologies that can help fix what is broken in healthcare to apply.
Companies will be evaluated based on their team, business model, stage of development, demonstrated traction, and strategic fit with athenahealth’s service portfolio and business model. Unlike many accelerator and incubator programs, MDP Labs will not take equity in participating companies.
MDP Labs participants will have access to:
– Workspace and Community – Office space in athenahealth’s downtown San Francisco (SoMA) location with a welcoming community of like-minded entrepreneurs.
– Tailored Programming – Internal R&D and business experts to help design a program catered to your company’s needs.
– Mentorship – Ongoing, dedicated mentorship and feedback from athenahealth’s product teams, senior leadership, super users, and curated network of advisors.
– Partnerships and Funding Opportunities – Opportunities to fast track an athenahealth partnership or investment.
– Exposure to Clients – Broad exposure to the athenahealth provider network and beta programs.
There is no cost to participate in the program. All companies receive office space and supplies, access to MDP Labs events and workshops, and mentorship from our network of advisors at no cost. Also, athenahealth does not take equity in companies for their participation in the program; however, participating companies are considered for investment and partnership opportunities on an ongoing basis.
“In 2011, we launched the athenahealth Marketplace wherein we opened a door for entrepreneurs to deliver new innovations to thousands of providers via our national cloud platform,” said Jonathan Bush, chief executive officer at athenahealth in a statement. “We are now supersizing our efforts—committing to fill 200 seats of our San Francisco office with the next generation of doers and big thinkers —and ushering in the next stage of the healthcare internet. By consolidating fresh talent, we can help fast track innovative solutions to market, making healthcare IT much more relevant, valuable, and ‘shop-able’ for providers and their patients.”