What Digital Health Innovation Summit does

Digital Health Innovation Summit (DHIS) is a boutique digital health conference business operated as a program within Cambridge Innovation Institute (CII), a privately-held events and conferences company headquartered at 250 First Avenue, Suite 300, Needham, MA. DHIS runs annual DHIS East and DHIS West summits — two-day in-person gatherings targeting C-suite executives, venture capital and private equity investors, digital health startups, payers, providers, and policymakers — with the next DHIS East scheduled for April 27-28, 2026 at the Seaport Hotel in Boston. The event features keynote talks, panel discussions, one-on-one networking, and the Cooley Capital Call pitch competition for seed to Series A-stage digital health companies. CII also operates five adjacent life-sciences events (Clinical Trial Venture, Bio-IT World, Medtech MVP, Bioprocessing Summit, Oncology Summit), positioning DHIS as one specialized program within a broader conference portfolio.

DHIS's product surface extends beyond the live event. The Breaking Health Podcast (180+ episodes, distributed on iTunes) features conversations between VCs and entrepreneurs about building healthcare companies. The Digital Health Innovation Spotlight is an on-demand webinar series covering timely digital health topics. Post-event, DHIS sells Conference Summary Reports at $199 for registered attendees and $499 for non-attendees, distilling key themes from sessions. Revenue is generated through three primary streams: conference registration (with 25% group and 20% alumni discounts), tiered sponsorships (Premier, Major, Strategic — Cooley LLP is the 2026 Premier Sponsor), and content products. Marketing reaches the audience through the Breaking Health Newsletter, Twitter (@dhisummit), a LinkedIn group, the podcast, and virtual Spotlight webinars.

DHIS was effectively launched in 2020 when CII introduced the Spotlight Series during COVID-19 to maintain community engagement after in-person events were postponed. The company's competitive positioning is built on intimacy and decision-maker access rather than scale, with testimonials emphasizing the boutique format's networking quality. Management is led by Ben Lakin, PhD (CEO of Cambridge Innovation Institute), with Jason Green as Senior Conference Director and Brian Caine as Manager of Strategic Partnerships overseeing the program.

Name

Digital Health Innovation Summit

Legal name

Cambridge Innovation Institute

Website

https://dhis.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Digital Health Innovation Summit (DHIS) is a boutique digital health conference operated by Cambridge Innovation Institute, hosting annual DHIS East and DHIS West summits for investors, startups, payers, and providers, complemented by the Breaking Health Podcast, Spotlight discussion series, Cooley Capital Call pitch competition, and paid summary reports.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Conferences & Industry Events

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums (MPAGAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Executive Leadership Summits (C-Suite, Board, Strategy Offsites) (THAHAMAA), Virtual/Hybrid Conference Production & Platform Management (THAHACAM), Medical, Scientific & Healthcare Congress Organizers (THAHACAD)

Keywords

• Healthcare conferences
• Digital health events
• Investor networking
• Startup competitions
• Industry summits

Headquarters

HQ city

Baltimore

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Conference Registration: Revenue from individual and group event registrations for the DHIS East and DHIS West summits. Discounts available for groups (25%), alumni (20%), and early registration.
2. Conference Summary Reports: Sale of post-event summary reports distilling key themes and takeaways from conference sessions. Priced at $199 for attendees and $499 for non-attendees.
3. Sponsorships: Tiered sponsorship opportunities including Premier Sponsor, Major Sponsor, and Strategic Sponsor designations with varying visibility and branding benefits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

DHIS organizes boutique two-day in-person digital health conferences (DHIS East in Boston and DHIS West) targeting C-suite executives, investors, startups, and policymakers. The summit features keynote talks, panel discussions, 1-on-1 networking, and the Cooley Capital Call startup competition, complemented by the Breaking Health Podcast, Digital Health Innovation Spotlight virtual discussions, and post-event Conference Summary reports.

Product overview

Digital Health Innovation Summit (DHIS) operates as an event-based platform offering multiple interconnected products: the Breaking Health Podcast featuring candid conversations with digital health leaders; the Digital Health Innovation Spotlight discussion series; the flagship DHIS East two-day conference in Boston bringing together investors, startups, and healthcare leaders; Cooley Capital Call startup competition for early-stage companies; and Conference Summary reports distilling key insights from events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Breaking Health Podcast: Candid conversations with digital health innovators and business leaders featuring VC and entrepreneur interviews
• Digital Health Innovation Spotlight
• Cooley Capital Call

Products and services

• DHIS East Conference

Quantifiable outcome

• $588 million invested in behavioral healthtech start-ups in first half of 2020 (per Rock Health)

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, major and core.

• Cooley LLPflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 April 2026Cooley is the Premier Sponsor and hosts the Cooley Capital Call startup competition at DHIS 2026. The competition features seven presentations from seed to Series A-stage digital health companies presenting rapid-fire pitches with Q&A from judges and venture capitalists.
• CIBC Innovation BankingmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 April 2026CIBC is a Major Sponsor of DHIS 2026 and presents the Digital Healthcare Innovator Award, introduced during the event.
• Well-Oiled MarketingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 April 2026Well-Oiled Marketing is a Major Sponsor providing session on digital health marketing strategies and paid media optimization.
• Silicon Valley Bank (SVB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 April 2026SVB provides healthcare investment landscape overview and market intelligence as a Strategic Sponsor of DHIS.
• Cambridge Innovation Institute (Parent)flagshipOthers · 27 April 2026Cambridge Innovation Institute (CII) operates DHIS as part of its Cambridge VIP portfolio of life sciences and healthcare conferences.
• Vida HealthflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 February 2021Vida Health sponsors the Spotlight Series episode on The Evolving Site of Care Landscape & The New Frontier of Care at Home, featuring keynote with Winjie Miao of Texas Health Resources.
• Goodwin ProctercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 December 2020Goodwin Procter sponsored the Behavioral Health Spotlight Series episode, with Partner Delphine O'Rourke hosting the episode introduction.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• HLTH: HLTH is one of the largest healthcare innovation events, bringing together payers, providers, employers, investors, and policymakers. Direct competitor to DHIS in the digital health conference space with overlapping investor/startup/corporate buyer audience and broader scale.
• Health 2.0 Conference: Health 2.0 is a digital health-focused conference showcasing emerging health technology, startups, and innovators. Direct competitor to DHIS with overlapping startup/investor/corporate attendee base and similar digital health investment and innovation content focus.
• ViVE: ViVE is a digital health conference jointly operated by HLTH and CHIME, targeting CIOs, senior executives, and digital health innovators. Direct competitor for the same DHIS attendee base (C-suite, investors, payers, providers) with overlapping content on investment, innovation, and digital health strategy.

Emerging players

• Fierce Healthcare Events: Fierce Healthcare produces healthcare executive events and digital content, targeting payer/provider/innovator audiences with overlapping but broader scope than DHIS. Partial competitor for the same healthcare executive attendee base with media rather than conference heritage.
• PitchBook Healthcare VC Summit: PitchBook Healthcare VC Summit focuses on healthcare venture capital data and LP/GP networking. Overlaps with DHIS's investor audience but with a data/finance angle rather than digital health innovation programming, making it a partial rather than direct peer.
• MedCity INVEST Conference: MedCity INVEST is a healthcare investment conference focusing on startup-investor matchmaking across multiple healthcare verticals. Partial overlap with DHIS in the investor/startup networking use case but broader scope spanning multiple healthcare segments rather than digital health specialization.

Broad incumbents

• J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference: The premier annual healthcare investment conference held in San Francisco each January, drawing every major healthcare investor and corporate development team. Overlaps with DHIS East/West in investor/corporate attendee base and digital health deal-flow focus, but operates as a broad incumbent rather than a digital-health-specialist event.
• HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition: HIMSS is the largest healthcare IT and digital health conference globally, drawing tens of thousands of attendees. Overlaps with DHIS in digital health content and provider/payer/innovator audience, but operates at vastly larger scale and broader scope (not boutique, not investor-focused).

Others

• Bio-IT World Conference & Expo: Bio-IT World is a sister event under the same Cambridge Innovation Institute parent as DHIS. Same operator, shared audience overlap, and parallel infrastructure — included as an ecosystem peer reflecting shared CII portfolio economics rather than direct competition.
• Bioprocessing Summit: Bioprocessing Summit is another CII-operated life sciences conference within the same parent portfolio as DHIS. Sister event with shared back-office infrastructure and cross-portfolio sponsorship opportunities rather than direct digital health competition.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dhisummit
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/groups/12961266

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Digital Health Innovation Summit