Empowering Innovation that Helps the World SMILE

SMILE Health is the accelerator program where transformational solutions to improve oral health take center stage.

We support innovators who challenge norms and are ready to advance solutions that improve accessibility, equity, and propel the integration between oral health and overall health.

CareQuest Innovation Partners and MATTER have joined together to launch SMILE Health for its fourth year. The four month semi-virtual program connects diverse innovators with a network of mission-aligned industry partners who help advance your solution and roadmap.

Benefits for selected participants:

• Non-Dilutive Cash Stipend: Receive a $15,000 stipend without giving up any equity.
• Expert-Led Validation Studies: Tap into curated industry data and strengthen your business case.
• 1:1 Mentorship: Connect with industry veterans who provide personalized guidance.
• Custom Curriculum: Engage in immersive workshops tailored to health innovators.
• Dedicated Pitch Support: Workshop pitches to present to medical and oral health leaders at a closed-door Reveal Day and at HLTH.
• Ongoing Access: Gain a six-month MATTER membership upon program completion to continue building your business.
• Future Growth: Apply for ACCELERATE, a program that provides incremental funding to collaborate with industry partners on mission-aligned projects. 

This year is focused on three key areas:

• Advancing Accessible, Equitable, and Integrated Health: How can we make health care, including oral health, more accessible, equitable and/or integrated?
• Engaging People in their Oral Health: How can we more effectively activate individuals and communities in oral health to enhance health outcomes, promote self-care, and reduce disparities?
• Connecting Chronic Care with Oral Health: How can we help people at risk or with chronic conditions better manage their overall health through oral health?

   For more information visit carequestinnovation.com/smile-health 

Deadline to apply is May 4, 2025 at 11:59pm ET.

Seeking Digital Health Medical Countermeasures

Focus Areas

Areas of focus for the accelerator include digital health tools that enhance preparedness and response to public health emergencies due to:

1. Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats

2. Pandemic influenza 

3. Emerging infectious diseases 

If your solution is working in another segment or space, please provide a narrative around how it relates to the focus areas above.

Across these areas, we are interested in digital health solutions that can support preparedness, health readiness and mobilization. Specifically:

• Technologies to enhance clinical trials for medical countermeasures (MCMs), which could include innovations for enhanced recruitment and retention or optimized trial design.
• At-home digital diagnostics and telemedicine solutions that utilize artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) approaches for diagnosis and risk assessment.
• Novel approaches to collect, process, evaluate and validate real-world evidence for therapeutics, devices and diagnostics, including use of AI/ML.
• Digital twin approaches using multimodal clinical data, including AI (e.g., EHR, imaging, unstructured notes) for early identification, endotyping or treatment guidance for disease severity to enable early intervention.
• Integrated capabilities to identify deterioration in the pre-hospital setting to assist in assessing, diagnosing and treating CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear) mass casualty patients. For example, innovations that enable sensor data collection, AI model development, responder- and clinician-facing user interfaces and tools that can facilitate integration with larger healthcare enterprises.
   

Who should apply?

We’re seeking entrepreneurs and university-backed researchers who are developing digital health solutions that will empower the nation to prepare for and respond to health security threats and improve the continuum of clinical care.

This global call for solutions is open to startups from across the innovation ecosystem with an established proof of concept, evidence of product-market fit and business model potential.

This program is conducted fully virtually. Participants must be available to spend approximately five hours each week from May 27 to August 1.
 

Timeline

March 31, 2025: Applications open

May 9, 2025: Applications close

May 23, 2025: Cohort announced

May 27, 2025–August 1, 2025: 10-week accelerator*

August or September 2025: Final Showcase 

*One-week break the week of June 30-July 4, 2025

Deadline to apply is May 9, 2025 at 11:59pm CT.

Challenge statement: 

How might we enhance the eye care experience?

Timeline:

April 25: Applications open

June 8: Applications close

July 25: Cohort announced

August 11 - September 5: 4-week startup bootcamp

Week of September 15: Final showcase (in person at Vision Expo West in Las Vegas, Nevada)