Nelson Advisors featured in MedTech World's 'Healthcare 2026: Why resilience trumps caution in the AI era' article

Nelson Advisors featured in Silicon Republic's "Medtech in 2026 to be shaped by innovation and compliance' article

Innovation Versus Resilience: The False Trade-Off

Both the Deloitte survey and Nelson Advisors’ IPO predictions emphasize resilience as organizations navigate uncertainty. But resilience isn’t achieved through caution—it’s built through practice.

As companies grow larger, they tend to become more risk-averse. They reward not taking risks, which atrophies the resilience muscle. In product development, I consistently see larger organizations being too conservative. Some fraction of every budget must fund the innovation side of the business, or you become obsolete.

This is where the IPO market dynamics become fascinating. Nelson Advisors predicts 2026 will mark “The Return of the Mega-Deal,” with large healthcare IPOs like Zelis Healthcare (projected at $1B+ valuation) and potential Medtronic MiniMed spin-offs entering the market. Companies demonstrating measurable AI ROI are particularly attractive.

But here’s the challenge: after an IPO, public scrutiny intensifies dramatically. I’ve been in startups that went public, then bought themselves back private—twice—because managing investors while managing the business proved nearly impossible.

Amazon cracked this code by telling investors upfront: “We’re going to waste this big chunk of change every year trying innovative things.” As long as they manage both the business and the narrative, it works. In medtech, I haven’t seen anyone successfully balance both. Most bigger companies avoid any scent of risk, which tamps innovation down and they just repeat what worked last year and wonder why their performance is lagging that of their “worthy rivals”.

The Competitive Divide Is Widening

Companies not using AI in their development processes and daily operations will be bypassed by startups and competitors who do. This isn’t hypothetical. I’m watching it happen in real-time.

In 2025 alone, we’ve moved from chaotic AI experimentation to sophisticated automation using tools like Claude Code. The teams I work with in my biweekly executive roundtable are experiencing radical capability increases with the same headcount and hours in the day.

The startups entering the IPO pipeline understand this. According to Nelson Advisors’ watchlist, companies like Sword Health (digital MSK care, $4B valuation) and Maven Clinic (women’s and family health, $1.7B valuation) are positioning for liquidity events precisely because they’ve integrated AI into their operational DNA.

Meanwhile, established companies debate whether AI is worth the investment.

Source: https://med-tech.world/news/healthcare-2026-why-resilience-trumps-caution-in-the-ai-era/