Junction, a healthtech startup formerly known as Vital, has raised $18 million in a Series A funding round led by European venture capital firm Creandum. This investment will fuel the company's mission to connect wearables and lab services to healthcare systems, ultimately improving patient outcomes.

The need for integration between wearables, medical devices, and healthcare systems is evident. Currently, most medical devices and wearables are not linked to healthcare databases, hindering the potential for better healthcare outcomes. Junction aims to bridge this gap by providing a single API that enables companies to integrate with over 500 wearable and medical devices, as well as facilitate lab testing across all 50 US states.

Junction's platform has already shown promising results, with over 2 million devices connected and a projected 1 million lab tests this year. The company's API allows companies to standardize device data, making it easier for healthcare providers to access and utilize this information. This integration is particularly crucial for the 60% of US adults living with chronic diseases, who often rely on home-monitoring devices that require manual data collection by care teams.

Junction is not alone in its pursuit to link data and devices. Other companies, such as Health Gorilla and Change Healthcare, are also working towards this goal. However, Junction's focus on integrating wearables and lab services sets it apart, and its traction with over 140 healthcare organizations as customers, including Found, Parsley Health, and Evidation, demonstrates the potential of its platform.

"Data is the bottleneck to unleashing the potential of new technologies like AI in healthcare," said Sabina Wizander, Partner at Creandum. "Junction solves this problem by providing companies with healthcare infrastructure for lab testing and device data integration."

In addition to Creandum, other investors participating in this Series A round include Y Combinator, Point Nine, and Amino Collective. Junction previously raised a seed round with Point Nine Capital and YC three years ago.

As the healthcare industry continues to shift towards more personalized and preventative care, Junction's platform is well-positioned to play a critical role in this transformation. By bridging the gap between wearables, medical devices, and healthcare systems, Junction is poised to improve healthcare outcomes and unlock the full potential of healthcare data.