This morning, Cue Health, a rapid diagnostics startup with a connected testing device platform, announced its plans to go public via an IPO. While the company has filed with SEC, the number of shares and the price range are still yet to be determined. 

This news comes just months after the company announced a whopping $235 million private financing round. To date, the San Diego-based company has more than $664 million in funding. 

Founded over a decade ago, the company specializes in creating point-of-care diagnostics that can be used in care settings, schools and homes. In 2020, the company landed an FDA emergency use designation for its COVID-19 molecular diagnostic test kit, which lets customers test themselves for the virus at home without a prescription. 

WHY IT MATTERS 

After years of IPO inactivity in the digital health space, 2019 was a breakout year for companies going public. But this trend isn’t stopping. According to an April Rock Health report, in the first few months of 2021 there were more completed or announced public exits by digital health companies than the whole of 2020. 

One of the most popular options for going public is by means of special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs. 

When Cue Health officially goes public, it will join the growing list of digital health companies opting for a public exit. To date, some big names in the industry including Oscar, 23andMe, Hims and Hers, Talkspace, Amwell and Butterfly Network have all become public digital health companies. 

THE LARGER TREND

There are a number of companies working in the home diagnostics space. In May, reports circulated that Amazon was pursuing at-home medical testing after it landed an EUA for a COVID-19 test with home sample-collection for its employees. 

Cue Health’s competitor Everlywell, which developed a home test for a number of metrics including nutrition, heart health, blood sugar and sexual health, scored $175 million in Series D funding in December.

LetsGetCheck has also developed a number of home diagnostics, including ones for the testing of hormone levels, sexually transmitted infections, liver performance, nutrition and COVID-19.