Can smarter investment help Canadian medtech go global?

Judyanna Yu is the managing partner of One Six 8 Ventures. – Photo by Jennifer Friesen, Digital Journal

Breakthrough technology isn’t what makes or breaks a medtech startup. At least, not on its own.

In Canada’s life sciences sector, what really sets startups apart is whether they have the right investors backing them.

“It is important to find smart money when there is that choice,” says Judyanna Yu, managing partner of One Six 8 Ventures, in conversation with Digital Journal at Inventures 2025. “To find strategic investors that not only can provide capital, but more importantly, strategic, strategic advice and partnership.”

This perspective on venture investment goes beyond balance sheets, revealing a shift happening inside Canada’s early-stage medical technology (medtech) and life sciences sector.

In a space long considered risky and slow to mature, investors like Yu are betting on a new combination of operating experience, global networks, and local commitment to help startups scale without losing their roots.

It’s a question with national stakes. As Canada pushes to grow its health innovation pipeline, investors and founders alike are trying to close critical gaps that have sent many companies abroad in search of capital, partnerships, or commercial pathways. 

And according to Yu, that might be changing.

[Watch the interview in full in the video below]

Strengthening Canada’s health innovation base

One of the biggest challenges for Canada’s life sciences sector has been moving from promising research to market-ready products that can compete globally. But Yu believes the landscape is beginning to shift.

“There has been really good deals in the past, like Fusion Pharmaceuticals exited last summer to AstraZeneca, and then Chinook Therapeutics, another really good example, two summers ago, got acquired by Novartis,” she explains.

She points to a stronger ecosystem of investors, government grants, and specialized funds now fuelling early-stage growth. For One Six 8 Ventures, that means focusing on medtech companies ready to move from Seed to Series A, a stage that demands more than just cash.

But it’s not just VCs swooping in with term sheets, it’s a whole chain reaction. From government grants to angel investors who take the first leap, to late-stage private equity firms coming in when the stakes (and valuations) are higher, Yu says Canada’s health innovation ecosystem is showing signs of maturity.

Still, money alone isn’t enough. Plenty of startups have the science, but what they need is help turning it into a real business.

“We do need experts and individuals who know how to commercialize to assist these companies,” says Yu.

Too often, she adds, technical founders come out of research labs with strong intellectual property (IP) but lack the teams and advisors to navigate regulatory hurdles or expand internationally.

Her approach draws on more than a decade as a CFO for medtech and biotech companies in North America and Asia, building a global network of physicians, scientists, and operators who have grown and exited health companies in other markets.

She says she sees a new willingness among Canadian investors to help companies stay and scale here, if the right supports are in place.

Why timing the exit matters in medtech

Unlike many tech startups that look to public markets for growth, medtech ventures often build with an acquisition in mind from the start. Yu says that understanding how, when, and by whom a company might be bought is part of the strategy that shapes product development and partnerships.

“Medtech is different,” she says. “A lot of companies exit through an acquisition, through larger companies like Medtronic, Stryker, Johnson & Johnson, and they usually exit within 10 to 12 years of incorporation.”

Planning for that moment means asking early whether the company has the right IP protections, whether its technology solves a real gap big enough to attract global buyers, and whether the team can handle the complex steps from lab to market.

“We look at a lot of things, and that’s why medtech is very interesting,” says Yu. “We look at the technical feasibility. We look at the regulatory pathways. Can we map those out? We look at IP. Do they have a really strong IP strategy, and both the kind that protects their technology but also gives them freedom to operate?”

Still, even the best ideas can unravel fast if founders aren’t thinking beyond the lab. Yu says she sees it all the time. Brilliant researchers who’ve nailed the science, but haven’t built the team to get it across the finish line.

Whether it’s skipping the regulatory prep, underestimating how long approvals actually take, or forgetting that commercialization is a full-time job, these are the blind spots that stall great tech.

Getting the IP locked down is one thing, but who’s going to navigate the FDA? Who’s building the partnerships? Yu says founders need to plan for those things early, not when the runway is already burning.

It’s a reminder that for medtech startups, the exit is not an afterthought or wishful thinking. It’s the North Star that keeps founders focused on how their work can eventually plug into a larger ecosystem, and stay competitive in a sector where timelines, approvals, and partnerships can make or break a promising idea.

[Watch the interview in full in the video below]

The case for smart money

For founders hoping to keep their companies Canadian, the difference often comes down to whether they can find “smart money,” i.e. capital that comes with operating knowledge and doors opened to international partners.

Yu’s own global network spans physicians, scientists, and operators who have built and exited health companies in other markets. She sees that perspective as crucial to help Canadian startups think bigger, sooner.

Since moving back to Canada during COVID, Yu says she has seen more investors, government grants, and ecosystem players “pushing things forward” in the biotech and medtech space.

Still, she warns, the draw of larger pools of capital elsewhere remains strong.

“It does, and it’s unfortunate,” she says. “There’s just a lot more capital outside of Canada right now, but we are seeing a change that there’s more smart money coming into Canada. So hopefully with that, there’ll be more companies choosing to stay in Canada.”

For Yu, the goal is to bring together deep operating experience and international reach so Canadian medtech companies can grow at home without being forced to relocate to succeed.

Her optimism is grounded in the idea that founders shouldn’t have to choose between building for a local market and competing globally.

“We’re seeing some really first in class breakthrough technologies in Canada,” she says. “And we’re excited about this because they’re developing something novel that’s really filling a big gap in health inefficiencies.”

As the sector looks ahead, smarter investment may be just what Canada’s medtech founders need to turn homegrown breakthroughs into global success stories.