Royal Philips Electronics has signed on as an anchor investor in Gilde Healthcare III, a new venture capital fund with a target size of about $250 million that is focused on early and growth stage healthcare technology companies in the US and Europe. The fund will focus on startups that have a patient-centric approach to healthcare delivery, meaning they champion patient experience as well as improved clinical outcomes as their mission. Philips announced that it has a minority stake in the fund but did not disclose further financial details.

Specifically, the Gilde Healthcare III fund is seeking startups developing home healthcare solutions, sleep improvement techniques, image-guided interventions/therapies and clinical decision support. Areas of interest include: cardiology, oncology and women’s health.

Last year Philips estimated the global home health market opportunity at 100 billion euros or about $148.3 billion. Philips said it was targeting about 5 percent of the market.

According to the company, Gilde Healthcare III is a separate but complementary effort to the Philips Healthcare Incubator.

“Over the past years the venturing community has been instrumental in bringing breakthrough healthcare innovations to the market,” said Steve Rusckowski, CEO of Philips Healthcare. “Through our participation in the Gilde Healthcare III venture capital fund, we are taking another step forward in driving innovation in areas of strategic interest to Philips in healthcare. At the same time we will become even more connected to the venturing community, which is an important element of Philips’ open innovation approach.”

Read the full press release for more