The investments are part of the company’s broader strategy to support scalable health innovations that improve access and outcomes in preventative care.
The three companies – Umps Health, Vively Health, and Eugene Labs – are in the seed and Series A funding stages. Each is focused on technology-driven healthcare solutions:
Danielle Handley, chief customer and transformation officer at Bupa Asia Pacific, said these investments reflect the company’s long-term aim to enhance connected, preventive care models by partnering with nimble, innovation-led firms.
“While this is an initial investment, we see huge potential in these growing start-ups which share our strategic goal of enabling preventative healthcare that is more connected and customer centric,” she said.
Bupa has already launched a pilot with Vively Health, offering selected policyholders access to CGM devices and a companion app.
The program gathers individual health data, which is then analysed to deliver tailored guidance, facilitated by Vively’s dietitians and wellness professionals.
Tim Veron, chief executive at Vively Health, said working with Bupa has opened new opportunities to reach Australians seeking proactive health tools.
“We believe that everyone deserves access to tools that can help improve their health outcomes, and this pilot is a major step towards achieving that goal. We are really excited about what we can achieve together as part of this program and beyond,” he said.
Additional programs involving Umps and Eugene Labs are currently in development, aiming to introduce their services more broadly across Bupa’s customer base.
The venture initiative follows the company’s earlier eco-Disruptive program, which supported start-ups addressing sustainability and public health challenges across the Asia-Pacific region.
In a separate initiative, Bupa recently released a joint report with Health Care Without Harm, outlining strategies to reduce healthcare waste, particularly the reliance on single-use items (SUIs). The publication calls for a sector-wide reassessment of waste policies and procurement processes.
Bupa has begun to implement sustainable alternatives, including reusable stainless-steel medicine cups in New Zealand aged care homes and biodegradable dental materials in Australian practices.
The report also highlighted work being undertaken through the Monash Sustainable Development Institute’s “Transitions to Sustainable Health Systems” consortium, of which Bupa is a member.
Internationally, Bupa UK has partnered with the University of Manchester to further investigate sustainable practices in healthcare delivery.
