Healthcare technology startups across the GCC attracted US$148 million in disclosed investment between January 2025 and July 2026, according to PitchBook data. Saudi Arabia led the region with 17 of the 32 healthtech companies that secured funding, followed by the UAE with 11 companies.

The investment trends will be a key focus at WHX Tech, taking place from 26–28 January 2027 at Dubai World Trade Centre. The event will bring together startups, investors, healthcare leaders and technology companies to explore opportunities across AI, data, cybersecurity, connected care and digital health.

Also read: Global Health Exhibition 2026 to Bring Global Healthcare Leaders to Riyadh

“What excites me is that the GCC is starting to move from being a buyer of healthcare innovation to actually wanting to build it. Historically, healthcare investment in the region focused on hospitals, healthcare delivery, drug imports, or the introduction of existing Western business models into the Middle East. That’s changing quite quickly,” said Tugce Ergul.

WHX Tech will feature an Investor Programme and Xcelerate Startup Competition, connecting emerging healthtech companies with investors, industry partners and healthcare decision-makers. The event will also highlight technologies in areas including digital health, telehealth, women’s health, AI-driven diagnostics and biotechnology, as the GCC increasingly shifts from being a buyer of healthcare innovation to becoming a builder of new health technologies.

Lorena Diaz Palle, Event Director, WHX Tech, said: “The technology transforming healthcare is increasingly being developed at the intersection of different disciplines, from AI and biological data to diagnostics, digital platforms and connected care. WHX Tech is designed to put that technology in front of the people who can help take it further: investors, healthcare decision-makers, technology partners and policymakers.”

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Danielle Brewin Graham, General Partner of Phoenix Fire Ventures, Co-Founder of The Firehood and WHX Tech advisory board member, said: “The region’s advantage is speed. Regulatory sandboxes and government-backed programmes let healthtech founders pilot with real institutional partners far faster than in North America, where pilots can take years to unlock. The opportunity is for founders who build solutions designed for rapid deployment across a young, digitally fluent, multi-market population spanning the GCC.”