The global health tech sector is poised for remarkable growth, projected to reach US$504 billion by 2025, with notable advancements seen in regions like Singapore, where health tech startups attracted US$409 million in funding last year and doubled their deal volume. This burgeoning sector is increasingly intersecting with insurtech, creating new opportunities to enhance healthcare delivery and insurance solutions.  

There is so much opportunity within the health tech arena, with Orchis Li, General Manager from Gen Re Hong Kong who shared with us at ITC Asia, "With today's health tech, there is so much more data that provides better insights into our customers, fostering innovation and the creation of unique offerings. To be honest, in the past, the lack of information deterred us from entering the space of mental healthcare, but now, equipped with knowledge, we're encouraged to explore and innovate."  

Innovation is blossoming within the industry, and as an individual who is deeply passionate about mental health, I am particularly optimistic about how they are being integrated within the insurtech industry. The integration of health tech and insurtech offers significant mutual benefits by leveraging predictive algorithms and data analytics to create personalized solutions. Health tech provides insurers with real-time data, enabling them to tailor health insurance products to individual needs and risk profiles, leading to more personalized, predictive, and preventive services. Additionally, digital health ecosystems streamline administrative processes, reduce overhead costs, and accelerate turnaround times by minimizing manual data handling and improving efficiency. 

In this article, we draw on the expertise of both industry leaders Theodoric Chew, CEO and Co-Founder of Intellect, and Joan Low, CEO of Thoughtfull. 

Intellect aims to revolutionize mental health care for both workplaces and individuals by transforming underutilized employee assistance programs (EAPs) and providing comprehensive self-care platform alongside 1-on-1 coaching and therapy sessions. Thoughtfull delivers affordable and accessible end-to-end mental wellbeing solutions designed to enhance employee performance, productivity, and retention. Their services include a 24/7 wellness hotline that provides continuous psychological first aid and a dedicated phone line for organizational support, along with post-hotline assistance to ensure comprehensive care for employees. 

We asked them to offer their insights into the realms of well-being and mental health by understanding why they decided to embark on their business ventures. Theodoric shared that he "founded Intellect based on personal lived experience having gone through therapy myself since my teenage years, and also having observed the lack of innovation and change happening within the space of mental healthcare over the past decade despite the excessive demand and need. There was a clear gap in terms of societal need and what's out there. We sought therefore to build a new approach to mental health support, one that doesn’t discriminate against background, need, or geography, leading us to building what Intellect is today: The leading global provider of hyperlocal mental healthcare services, ranging from preventative through to acute care needs." 

Joan also highlighted that "ThoughtFull was a calling that was 20 years in the making as a mental health caregiver. The idea for ThoughtFull emerged from a blend of frustration and hope—frustration over the gaps in accessible mental health solutions that work and hope from the advancements in digital mental health initiatives overseas. I considered various models, but there was no doubt that being digitally powered was the best option to scale reach and impact." 

Given the gaps in the mental health field, we explored tapping deeper into their experience on what they believe are some of the industry's shortcomings. Theodoric pointed out "Accurate triaging and treatment journeys - Mental healthcare as we traditionally know it tends to be fragmented. Individuals themselves shoulder most of the responsibility to determine the care they need - this results in significant inefficiencies where individuals seeking help are not always provided with the appropriate levels of care matching their needs. We believe that the treatment journey needs to be seamless, with individuals guided through the treatment journey to the most appropriate solution for their needs. At Intellect, we’ve built industry-leading triaging pathways for our users, so that regardless of where and when they are accessing care, our users will quickly find themselves in the most suitable journey of care." 

Another notable mention that Joan put forth was "Seamless Access to Tailored Solutions - The mental health industry often lacks seamless access to solutions that are culturally and individually tailored to diverse communities. ThoughtFull addresses this by providing mental health services that are not only accessible but also deeply responsive to the specific needs of those we serve. Through our ThoughtFullChat app, we bridge geographical, socio-cultural, and socio-linguistics gaps and users can easily access individualised care, including self-serve tools, assessments, text-based therapy, video therapy, and 24/7 hotlines available in 12 languages." 

The perspectives shared by Theodoric and Joan underscore the significant ways in which health technology is transforming the field of mental health. Their insights reveal that technological advancements are not merely enhancing existing treatments but are fundamentally reshaping the landscape of mental health care. As a result, the integration of advanced technologies into mental health care is paving the way for more personalized and effective treatments, ensuring that all individuals, regardless of their background or circumstances receive the support they need. 

If you are curious and would like to find out more information on health tech, you are welcomed to join the first of its kind in Asia, HealthTechX held between 21-22 May 2025 at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre, which serves as a dedicated platform bringing the entire healthcare ecosystem – from ministries of health and their digital agencies, providers, system integrators, large corporates, start-ups, payers, and investors – to partner, collaborate and innovate to deliver better patient outcomes. HealthTechX is a portfolio event of Clarion Events Asia.