StartUp Health NOW
From Evidence to Adoption: How datosX Is Redefining Digital Health Validation
StartUp Health NOW
•January 20, 2026•36 min
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StartUp Health NOW•Jan 20, 2026
Why It Matters
Accelerating evidence generation is critical for digital health startups to secure funding, partnerships, and market entry in a rapidly evolving AI‑driven landscape. By showcasing a model that dramatically cuts time and cost while delivering buyer‑credible data, the episode offers a roadmap for founders, health system leaders, and investors to bring trustworthy innovations to patients faster.
Key Takeaways
- •DatosX creates cost‑effective digital health trial network.
- •Healthcare systems receive reimbursed, opt‑in pilot studies.
- •Digital health firms gain FDA‑grade data from real hospitals.
- •Two‑sided marketplace reduces friction between tech sponsors and providers.
- •Model originated from Novartis Biome evidence lab.
Pulse Analysis
In the rapidly evolving digital health arena, validation has become a bottleneck for innovators. Robin Roberts explains that DatosX emerged from the Novartis Biome’s evidence lab, where a persistent gap surfaced: pharma needed real‑world data on wearables and software, while tech firms lacked resources to run dedicated studies. By extracting the lab’s methodology and spinning it into an independent company in 2023, DatosX set out to deliver cost‑effective, time‑efficient trials that answer specific use‑case questions without the overhead of traditional phase‑three designs.
The core of DatosX’s model is a two‑sided network that aligns healthcare systems with digital health sponsors. Hospitals receive reimbursed, opt‑in pilot studies that fit their strategic priorities, granting them direct control over which technologies are evaluated. This arrangement eliminates the financial risk for providers while supplying them with actionable data to inform procurement or co‑development decisions. By handling protocol design, source‑data verification, and study coordination, DatosX removes operational friction and expands the number of innovations a health system can test each year.
For digital health companies, the platform offers more than just data collection—it delivers FDA‑grade evidence generated within reputable health systems, a credibility boost that traditional CRO sites often lack. Sponsors benefit from end‑to‑end support, including biostatistical analysis, medical writing, and rapid access to potential commercial partners. This differentiated approach accelerates market entry, strengthens regulatory submissions, and creates a pipeline of real‑world validation that can translate into sustainable revenue streams. As the industry heads toward 2026, DatosX’s ecosystem promises to streamline adoption and elevate the standard of digital health evidence.
Episode Description
Digital health is moving at AI speed, but evidence generation is still stuck in the past.
In this episode, StartUp Health co-founder Unity Stoakes sits down with StartUp Health community member Robin Roberts, CEO & Founder of datosX Digital Health Labs, to explore how validation can become a catalyst for real-world adoption rather than a bottleneck. Drawing on his experience building the Novartis Biome and spinning datosX out of it, Robin explains why traditional CRO models no longer meet the needs of modern digital health and AI-powered solutions.
Together, they discuss how datosX is helping innovators generate regulatory-grade, buyer-credible evidence while unlocking pilots and commercial traction with leading health systems.
In this conversation, you will learn:
Why digital health companies cannot afford to wait 18 months for validation
How datosX pairs innovators with tier-1 health systems to run validation studies that double as pilots
What makes the datosX model 30–60% faster and up to 8–10× more cost-effective than legacy CROs
How real-world data and retrospective studies accelerate proof and decision-making
Why evidence, adoption, and trust must be built together
How the upcoming EVIDIA platform is turning global digital health trial knowledge into AI-powered intelligence
This episode is a must-listen for founders, health system leaders, investors, and partners working to bring validated, trustworthy health innovation to market faster.
Are you ready to tell YOUR story? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Exposure in StartUp Health Media to our global audience of investors and partners – including our podcast, newsletters, magazine, and YouTube channel – is a benefit of our Health Moonshot PRO Membership. To schedule a call and see if you qualify to join and increase brand awareness through our multi-media storytelling efforts, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit.
» Learn more and apply today.
Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.
Show Notes
Digital health is moving at AI speed, but evidence generation is still stuck in the past.
In this episode, StartUp Health co-founder Unity Stoakes sits down with StartUp Health community member Robin Roberts, CEO & Founder of datosX Digital Health Labs, to explore how validation can become a catalyst for real-world adoption rather than a bottleneck. Drawing on his experience building the Novartis Biome and spinning datosX out of it, Robin explains why traditional CRO models no longer meet the needs of modern digital health and AI-powered solutions.
Together, they discuss how datosX is helping innovators generate regulatory-grade, buyer-credible evidence while unlocking pilots and commercial traction with leading health systems.
In this conversation, you will learn:
-
Why digital health companies cannot afford to wait 18 months for validation
-
How datosX pairs innovators with tier-1 health systems to run validation studies that double as pilots
-
What makes the datosX model 30–60% faster and up to 8–10× more cost-effective than legacy CROs
-
How real-world data and retrospective studies accelerate proof and decision-making
-
Why evidence, adoption, and trust must be built together
-
How the upcoming EVIDIA platform is turning global digital health trial knowledge into AI-powered intelligence
This episode is a must-listen for founders, health system leaders, investors, and partners working to bring validated, trustworthy health innovation to market faster.
Are you ready to tell YOUR story? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Exposure in StartUp Health Media to our global audience of investors and partners – including our podcast, newsletters, magazine, and YouTube channel – is a benefit of our Health Moonshot PRO Membership. To schedule a call and see if you qualify to join and increase brand awareness through our multi-media storytelling efforts, submit our three-minute application. *If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit.
*» Learn more and apply today.
Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider**™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.
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