For decades, healthcare investment has focused heavily on acute interventions, surgical innovations, emergency services, and breakthrough medications. Real growth is now happening elsewhere. Chronic care, once considered a cost center, is emerging as one of the most promising opportunities in digital health. At the forefront of this shift is Joe Kiani, Masimo and Willow Laboratories founder, who is helping lead efforts to develop tools that prioritize early action, daily engagement and long-term impact.
This pivot reflects more than a change in funding. It signals a broader rethinking of how we define health values. As more people live longer with conditions like diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, the market is shifting from crisis response to continuous care. And with it comes an entire ecosystem of new services, tools and business models.
A Market Built on Prevention and Support
Chronic conditions now account for more than 80% of healthcare spending in the United States, much of it tied to complications that could have been prevented. This economic pressure has opened the door for companies that help people manage their health day by day, not just during visits to the clinic. That shift has created space for growth beyond treatment. Digital platforms, wearable sensors, remote coaching and behavior-driven insights are now central to how the industry is approaching chronic care.
Willow Laboratories developed Nutu™ to address this need directly. Rather than offering generic advice, it delivers real-time, personalized feedback based on a person’s metabolic and behavioral data. It helps users manage blood sugar, track stress, and understand how lifestyle choices affect long-term outcomes, all without waiting for symptoms to arise.
Expansion Beyond the Clinic
One reason chronic care is ripe for innovation is that it takes place outside the walls of hospitals. People don’t live in exam rooms. They live at work, at home, and in motion. And that’s where digital health tools can provide real value. By supporting daily routines, personalized platforms move care into everyday life.
These tools help people adjust meal timing, monitor energy levels, and respond to stress in real-time. They create small nudges that add up to meaningful change. This daily relevance has made chronic care platforms attractive to investors, employers, and public health leaders alike. They’re not just offering care, but they’re offering continuity.
User Engagement as an Economic Engine
Unlike traditional treatments that are administered once, digital chronic care tools depend on sustained engagement. That engagement is key to improving outcomes and growing market potential. The longer a person uses a platform, the more data it gathers, the more effective it becomes, and the more value it delivers. That feedback loop powers everything from personalized recommendations to predictive analytics, turning a single download into a long-term relationship.
Joe Kiani, Masimo founder, mentions Nutu saying, “Some of the early users that have been giving us feedback are saying really positive things about what it’s done for them.” That sense of empowerment increases loyalty, reduces churn, and builds trust, three traits essential to sustainable growth.
Employers and Insurers Are Paying Attention
Chronic care doesn’t just affect health outcomes, but it also affects productivity, absenteeism, and long-term insurance costs. As a result, employers and insurers are actively looking for tools that help people stay well, not just return to health after a crisis. Many are beginning to subsidize or reimburse platforms, especially those that have demonstrated an impact on key metrics such as blood sugar control, sleep quality, and stress resilience.
This shift in reimbursement strategy is helping digital health platforms move from niche to necessity. For companies in the chronic care space, these partnerships represent a major opportunity for scale and credibility.
Growth Through Integration, Not Isolation
Another major opportunity in chronic care is integration. Platforms that can interface with electronic health records, support remote monitoring, and collaborate with care teams are more likely to become part of a patient’s full care plan.
Digital tools that operate in silos risk being ignored. But those that enhance care, providing data between visits or enabling shared decision-making, become indispensable. Willow Laboratories designed Nutu to support this type of collaboration. While users interact with the platform daily, the insights generated can also be shared with providers to inform treatment adjustments or prevent escalation. That dual focus on personal empowerment and clinical support sets the stage for deeper market adoption.
Opportunities in Underserved Areas
The chronic care market also holds promise in traditionally overlooked communities. Rural areas, low-income populations, and underserved demographics often face barriers to in-person care. Digital platforms can help fill these gaps.
By using smartphones, wearable tech and remote coaching, users can access personalized support without long commutes, crowded clinics or time off work. This accessibility not only expands market reach but also aligns with public health goals. Companies that prioritize inclusion, offering multi-language support, culturally relevant content and easy onboarding stand to gain both social impact and market share.
Beyond Devices: Services and Subscriptions
Another sign that chronic care is a growth market is the emergence of service-based models. Companies are moving beyond one-time product sales to subscription models that offer coaching, tracking and personalized plans over time.
It creates recurring revenue and strengthens engagement. It also opens the door for tiered offerings, employer packages, and integration with other benefits platforms. It offers this kind of sustained support, with users receiving continuous updates, behavioral prompts, and goal tracking tailored to their patterns. That continuity creates habit loops that support health and customer retention.
Data as a Strategic Asset
Every time a user logs a meal, tracks a sleep cycle, or responds to a stress prompt, they generate data. Over time, this information becomes one of the most valuable assets in the chronic care space, not just for personalization, but for population health insights.
Startups that manage this data responsibly, investing in privacy, security and ethical use, are positioned to inform broader strategies in prevention and care delivery. It has attracted the attention of researchers, policymakers, and enterprise partners alike. Real-world data can help validate interventions, reduce disparities and guide funding toward programs that work.
A Shift in Perspective
Chronic care was once defined by limitations, such as what couldn’t be cured and what had to be managed indefinitely. Today, that perspective is changing. Companies are reframing chronic care as an arena of opportunity, where personalized insight, daily support, and real-time feedback empower people to lead healthier, more informed lives.
It marks a convergence of clinical progress and commercial opportunity, reshaping how value is delivered in healthcare. Platforms that help individuals take control of their health consistently, not sporadically, are generating value that reaches well beyond treatment. They’re building systems that prioritize continuity over crisis, creating impact that lasts.
