
The Heart of Healthcare | A Digital Health Podcast The Haves & Have-Nots Of 2025 | Threshold Ventures Co-founder Emily Melton
Dec 8, 2025
Emily Melton, co-founder of Threshold Ventures, shares her insights on healthcare's urgent future. She highlights a stark divide between thriving 'high flyers' and overlooked companies in health tech. Melton discusses the vital role of technology in addressing healthcare's immense cost structure and the impact of policy and private equity on M&A. She emphasizes the importance of founder grit and adaptability in today's venture landscape and encourages innovators to leverage constraints for building value.
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How Emily Entered Venture
- Emily joined venture capital after questioning startups' revenue and profitability as a young lawyer.
- Tim Draper hired her to ask those diligence questions and she started a VC career in 2000.
Early Bets: Livongo And Diagnostic AI
- Early healthcare investments included Livongo, Doximity, and Wellframe, chosen for employer-driven theses.
- Emily invested in AI/diagnostic companies like Imagen and Viz.ai before the market fully embraced them.
AI Replaces Work, Not Just Software
- AI can replace human labor, not just enhance software, addressing workforce shortages and lowering costs.
- This shift creates outsized opportunity where human labor currently drives healthcare costs.
