Rebranded health care startup accelerator welcomes new class of medical innovators

The Mayo Clinic and Arizona State University Alliance for Health Care has rebranded its accelerator program. The program, previously called the MedTech Accelerator, is now known as the Health Care Accelerator for 2026. The rebranding aims to better represent an expanded mission to serve more medical startup innovators. The accelerator provides emerging companies with a multiday immersive curriculum in health care entrepreneurship. This includes lectures and workshops with scientific and engineering experts. It also offers resources to navigate regulatory pathways and tools for product commercialization and customer acquisition, as well as mentoring, business development and networking events. The newest cohort consists of 10 companies from six nations across the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. These startups are developing AI-supported early detection platforms for cancer, vascular disease and mental health, along with regenerative medicine and tissue modeling technologies. Some focus on predicting disease years before symptoms appear, while others work to improve how clinicians deliver treatment or how researchers develop therapies. Barbara Marusiak, director of the Health Care Accelerator for ASU, said Greater Phoenix has become one of the nation's fastest-growing hubs for health care innovation. Bioscience employment is growing at nearly three times the national rate, and the industry contributes more than $32 billion to the regional economy. She added that programs like the accelerator are critical to sustaining that momentum After the two-week curriculum portion, the cohort will remain part of the Health Care Accelerator support network. This allows for continued collaboration and guidance. Dr. Steven Lester, medical director for Mayo Clinic's Discovery Oasis and co-founder of the Health Care Accelerator, said the cohort stands out for its combination of scientific credibility and bold ideas about the future of health care.