General Electric has launched Drawbridge Health, a healthtech developer that will develop a device to draw, collect and stabilise blood samples.

The round, backed by Illumina Ventures, brought in $10m in funding though some of that amount was in the form of convertible notes.

Cigna, Guardian Life Insurance, Hikma and Merck are part of a consortium that has provided $20.5m in series C funding to healthcare-focused AI software developer Prognos.

Merck returned for the series B round, which was previously revealed through a regulatory filing made in September 2017.

Medtronic, Novartis and SinoPharm are among the investors in a series B round for Semma Therapeutics, which is working on a treatment for patients suffering from diabetes.

Tencent-backed online healthcare services provider WeDoctor is aiming to secure $500m in a funding round before an initial public offering next year.

The Cultivate(MD) Capital Fund will start investing in medical device and orthopaedic technology companies in early 2018.

Optum Ventures will invest in early-stage startups that focus on delivering better healthcare.