MedTech Innovator's Radar Forum Sets New Standard for Vetting Startups

LOS ANGELES, CA – April 06, 2026 – MedTech Innovator (MTI), the world’s largest accelerator for medical technology companies, is launching a new, high-stakes evaluation event this week that promises to reshape how the most promising healthcare startups are identified and nurtured. The inaugural Radar Forum, an invite-only gathering from April 7-9 in Manhattan Beach, California, replaces the organization's long-standing multi-city Road Tour with a single, consolidated, and intensely collaborative experience.

The forum will convene nearly 500 of the industry's most influential figures, including 300 hand-picked experts from every stakeholder category—from venture capitalists and corporate strategics to hospital executives and regulators. Their mission: to collaboratively vet the top 150 startups, selected from an initial pool of 1,835 applicants, and ultimately champion 65 of them for a coveted spot in MTI’s prestigious 2026 U.S. Market Accelerator program.

A Strategic Evolution in Vetting Innovation

The shift from a distributed series of pitch events to a single, intensive forum marks a significant strategic evolution for the accelerator. The previous Road Tour model involved multiple stops where startups delivered short pitches to panels of judges. While effective, the new Radar Forum is designed to move beyond surface-level presentations to facilitate a much deeper level of scrutiny and engagement.

This new format emphasizes “signal over volume,” creating an environment for structured, small-group discussions and large group deliberations. The goal is to allow MTI's corporate partners and expert evaluators to more thoroughly examine every facet of a startup, including its technology, clinical viability, team, and commercial strategy. The pairings between startups and evaluators are intentionally curated based on expertise and strategic fit, ensuring that founders receive feedback from the most relevant minds in their specific domain.

“Over the past decade, MedTech Innovator has constantly refined and expanded our industry-leading evaluation process to give more stakeholders a seat at the table,” said CEO Paul Grand in a statement. “Radar is the latest innovation in what has become the industry's most effective platform for stakeholders to collaboratively identify, evaluate, and streamline the path to market success for the world's most promising medtech and digital health companies.”

Unlike many pitch competitions, the process is designed to be constructive for all involved. Following the forum, every one of the 150 participating companies will receive detailed written feedback from the experts, providing invaluable insights for refining their strategy, regardless of whether they advance to the accelerator cohort.

Where Policy Meets Potential

A key differentiator of the Radar Forum is the direct access it provides to the architects of healthcare policy and reimbursement. The speaker lineup reads like a who's who for any startup founder navigating the complexities of the U.S. market. The presence of these leaders transforms the event from a simple showcase into a critical strategic summit.

Headlining the regulatory discussions is Dr. Michelle Tarver, Director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). With a focus on advancing health equity and patient-centric device development, Dr. Tarver’s insights will offer founders a direct line of sight into the agency’s current priorities. For startups developing AI-driven diagnostics or home-based technologies, understanding the FDA’s perspective on the “Home as a Health Care Hub” and other initiatives is crucial for designing a successful regulatory pathway.

Equally important are the discussions on payment and market access. Brian Waldersen, Director of the Division of Specialty Payment Models at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, is set to discuss the CMS ACCESS model, providing a glimpse into the future of value-based care and reimbursement for novel devices. Complementing this, Zach Hochstetler, Vice President of CPT Coding and Payment at the American Medical Association, will address how CPT codes support innovation, a critical component for ensuring physicians can get paid for using new technologies. This trifecta of regulatory, reimbursement, and coding expertise in one room provides a rare and invaluable educational opportunity for entrepreneurs.

A Proven Launchpad for Global Success

MedTech Innovator’s claim as the world's most impactful medtech accelerator is backed by a formidable track record. The organization operates as a non-profit, offering its programs without taking equity or charging fees—a significant draw for early-stage companies. To date, its 838 graduates have gone on to raise a staggering $12 billion in follow-on funding, with 63 successful acquisitions and more than 500 products brought to market.

An impressive 93% of its alumni companies are still in business or have been acquired, a testament to the quality of its selection process and the strength of its ecosystem. Success stories span the full spectrum of healthcare. Alumni include Powerful Medical, which won the 2025 Mid-Stage Grand Prize for its AI platform that dramatically improves the accuracy of ECG diagnostics, and CloudCath, which secured $12 million in Series A funding to commercialize its remote monitoring system for patients undergoing catheter-based treatments.

While other prominent accelerators like Y Combinator and Rock Health exist, MTI’s deep, singular focus on medtech and digital health, combined with its unparalleled network of corporate partners and industry leaders, creates a unique environment. The Radar Forum further cements this distinction, creating a vetting process so rigorous and collaborative that it serves as a powerful de-risking signal for future investors and partners.

The Gateway to Acceleration

For the 150 startups attending the Radar Forum, the event is the final and most critical gateway in a monthslong evaluation process. Over the course of 2.5 days, they will not only pitch their innovations but also defend their strategies in intimate, high-stakes discussions with the very people who could become their future partners, investors, or regulators.

The outcome of these deliberations will determine the 65 companies that MTI’s corporate partners will champion for inclusion in the 2026 U.S. Market Accelerator. This accelerator program is not a simple curriculum but a bespoke, mentorship-driven journey designed to address each company's specific needs and connect them with the resources required to scale. The program officially kicks off at MTI's Innovator Summit in San Francisco from June 2-5, where the new cohort will be introduced to the broader ecosystem and begin their transformative journey from promising signal to market-changing reality.