Stanford
Emergence

Health Industry Collaborative

Where Industry Leaders Shape the Future of Preventive Healthcare

The Stanford Emergence Health Industry Collaborative, in partnership with Inflect Health, is a cross-industry forum designed to connect business leaders with Stanford innovators to accelerate profitable, preventive health innovation beyond traditional healthcare.

We unite executives, investors, technologists, researchers, and entrepreneurs to solve systemic drivers of societal health — while unlocking new markets and fuel strategic growth.

Why This Collaborative Exists

Health touches — and is shaped by — nearly every industry: technology, food, housing, climate, consumer products, retail, finance, and more. Yet innovation supply (students, research, founders) and innovation demand (industry needs, commercial pathways) rarely meet in structured, action-oriented ways.

The Health Industry Collaborative bridges that gap by creating an open forum where innovation supply connects directly with the evolving needs of industry — while strengthening clear commercial pathways for preventive healthcare solutions. This is more than a community. It is an applied innovation engine.

The Emergence Health Industry Collaborative goals are:

  • Connect next generation student and alumni innovators to the unmet needs of industry.
  • Strengthen R&D within a broad set of industries that impact societal health, through connection to top innovation talent.
  • Connect change makers in the industry to drive systemic transformation.

  • Cultivate new knowledge about preventive healthcare and impact-driven innovation through research, peer-to-peer sharing and ideation forums. 

    Learn more about our 2025 Health Industry Collaborative Kick-Off Event here. 

Stanford Emergence, Health Industry Collaborative Advisory Board

In 2026, Stanford Emergence formed a Strategic Health Industry Collaborative Advisory Board composed of senior cross-industry leaders committed to advancing preventive healthcare innovation.

Advisory leaders include:

The advisory board will guide our work in expanding the industry network and develop mutually beneficial programs to engage industry leaders.

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We advance preventive health innovations across industries that shape societal health:

  • Food for Health – Food systems, nutrition, and “Food is Medicine”
  • Housing & Built Environment – Aging in place, wellness-centered design
  • Moving for Health – Fitness, physical activity, mobility
  • Connections for Health – Mental health, belonging, behavioral health
  • Environmental Health – Climate resilience, pollution mitigation
  • Expanding Access – AI and emerging tools to expand healthcare availability
  • Holistic Health – Multidimensional healing and wellbeing

  • Precision Health – Personalized, data-driven and early interventions

     

  • Industry-Led Challenge Definition: Senior leaders surface a real strategic challenge facing their company or sector — one that, if solved, would create transformation.
  • Stanford Innovation Engine: The industry challenges will inform the projects in our course and the selection of ventures in our Accelerator to maximize the impact and industry alignment.
  • Feedback & Refinement: Industry leaders provide iterative input and coach and mentor students on their innovation journey throughout the class and Accelerator duration.

  • Pathway to Adoption: Final refined solutions are presented, with potential pathways for implementation.

     

Health touches, and is impacted by, almost all industries! 

The Emergence program invites cross-industry innovation leaders to join our growing community of high caliber change-makers, learn about emerging innovations, directions, and research in preventive healthcare, uncover new ventures,  and inspire R&D outside traditional office walls and in collaboration with other leaders at the forefront of innovation and social impact.  The Collaborative convenes leaders from organizations including:

  • Kaiser TPMG, Chief Innovation Officer
  • Vituity Health, Chief Innovation Officer
  • San Mateo Medical Center, Head of Innovation
  • Caption Health at GE, Chief Innovation Officer
  • Plug and Play, CEO
  • Cota Capital, General Partner
  • Summa Equity, General Partner
  • SOSV, General Partner
  • Mayfield Fund, General Partner
  • Amino Capital, General Partner
  • Spero VC, General Partner
  • Acumen America, Executive Director
  • Fusion Fund, Investor
  • Toniic, Director
  • Health Management Associates, Principal
  • Lexicon Branding, Founder
  • Niterra Ventures, CEO
  • German Accelerator, Director
  • Ashoka, Global VP
  • US FDA, Advisor
  • CALMHSA, Medical Director
  • Medicine 360, Director
  • Nvidia, Head of Genomics Products
  • Google Health, Director
  • Cartier Philanthropy and HR leadership
  • German Research Foundation, Manager
  • UCSF Innovation Ventures, Director
  • Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund, Partner
  • Stanford Computer Science, Chair
  • Stanford Bioengineering, Chair
  • Stanford GSB Center for Social Innovations, Director
  • Stanford Biodesign, Director
  • Stanford Sustainability Accelerator, Director
  • Stanford Technology Venture Program, Director
  • Stanford Law School Accelerator, Director
  • Stanford Human and Planetary Health, Director
  • Caption Health, Founder
  • Step One Foods, Founder
  • Endpoint Health, Founder
  • IT Renew, Founder
  • Salman Solutions, CEO
  • Base Genomics, Founder
  • Nobell Foods, Founder
  • Nana Academy, Founder
  • Flourish Labs, Founder
  • Arkifi, Founder
  • Develop For Good, Founder
  • Flex Therapeutics, Founder
  • FoundersX Ventures, Founder
  • Infinion, Founder
  • Legacy, Founder
  • MedEdge, Founder
  • PangeAI, Founder

  • SignUp Media

     

  • October 30, 2025 — Kickoff at Stanford University Industry leaders present strategic challenges and operational guardrails. Learn more here.
  • Winter and Spring 2026 — Industry leaders will support the founders in Stanford Emergence course work and Accelerator through coaching, mentorship, and feedback sessions.

  • June 2026 — Final presentations of scalable solutions tailored for potential adoption as part of Stanford Impact Entrepreneurship Summit.

     

We invite:

  • C-suite and innovation leaders
  • R&D and strategy executives
  • Corporate venture and investment teams
  • Industry changemakers ready to shape systemic transformation

Participants commit a few hours per month to:

  • Mentor innovators
  • Participate in ideation sessions
  • Attend quarterly convenings

  • Guide challenge refinement

     

Why Participate?

As a participating leader, you will:

  • Surface a high-priority business challenge
  • Influence next-generation innovation talent at Stanford
  • Access new R&D pathways without internal build costs
  • Engage with peer executives shaping the future of health
  • Strengthen your organization’s role in preventive, impact-driven growth

Join the Collaborative?

We are building a high-caliber community of cross-industry leaders committed to transforming health beyond healthcare. If you are interested in joining the Health Industry Collaborative please reach out to: