Digital health hits $4B in Q1, but 12 mega-deals took most of it, and 'AI deal' is no longer a category
Original reporting: Rock Health
Q1 2026 funding reached $4B across 110 deals, with 59% concentrated in 12 mega-deals. Rock Health retired its separate 'AI deal' tracking because AI has become table stakes in how digital health companies are built.
Why it matters
The headline is a rebound in dollars. The more telling detail is the concentration: a handful of large rounds captured most of the capital.
Retiring the 'AI deal' label is the real signal. The market has stopped rewarding the presence of AI and started asking what it changes.
The ReasonFirst take
When 'AI company' stops being a category, the question stops being whether a tool uses AI and becomes whether it removes real work.
Who should care
What to watch
Whether the mega-deal concentration signals durable winners, or a narrowing market that starves earlier-stage tools worth watching.
A question worth sitting with
If AI is table stakes, what is the actual thing a buyer is now paying for?
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