Strive's Bold Gambit: A Bitcoin Whale Acquires a MedTech Firm

DALLAS, TX – January 16, 2026 – Strive, Inc. has officially cemented its place as a major force in the corporate cryptocurrency landscape, today announcing the successful completion of its acquisition of Semler Scientific. The deal transforms Strive into the 11th largest public corporate holder of bitcoin globally, with a treasury now boasting approximately 12,797.9 BTC.

This strategic maneuver is more than just a digital asset accumulation; it represents a bold and unconventional fusion of two disparate industries. Strive, an asset management firm with a laser focus on its Bitcoin treasury, now finds itself the owner of a medical device company specializing in early disease detection. The move has captured the attention of Wall Street, prompting both intrigue and skepticism as the market watches to see if Strive can successfully navigate this complex, dual-pronged strategy.

A New Bitcoin Whale Emerges

With the finalization of the deal, Strive’s bitcoin holdings have swelled, placing it in an elite class of publicly traded companies. The acquisition brings Semler Scientific's 5,048.1 BTC into Strive’s treasury, which already held 7,749.8 BTC. This combined stack vaults the company past notable names like Tesla in the corporate bitcoin rankings, underscoring the aggressive nature of its accumulation strategy.

The move is a direct execution of Strive's stated mission: to increase its “Bitcoin per share” and use the digital asset as the primary benchmark for capital deployment. The company operates on the belief that building a substantial Bitcoin treasury represents the single best opportunity for long-term value creation. Unlike other corporate adopters who treat bitcoin as a secondary reserve asset, Strive has positioned it as the very core of its corporate identity, branding itself as the first publicly traded asset management Bitcoin treasury company.

This acquisition is expected to significantly amplify that strategy. Strive projects that the integration of Semler's assets will boost its Q1 2026 Bitcoin yield to over 15%, a critical metric for a company aiming to outperform Bitcoin itself. By consolidating the bitcoin holdings of both entities, Strive not only increases its scale but also reinforces its narrative as a premier, publicly accessible vehicle for investors seeking exposure to a corporate bitcoin strategy.

The Unlikely Marriage of Crypto and MedTech

While the bitcoin accumulation aspect of the deal is straightforward, the integration of Semler Scientific's operating business presents a more complex picture. Semler is known for its flagship product, QuantaFlo, an FDA-cleared, non-invasive test used for the early detection of Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD). For years, it was a leader in its niche, providing a valuable service to insurance companies and healthcare providers keen on reducing long-term costs associated with chronic disease.

However, the medical device unit has faced significant headwinds. In 2025, Semler experienced a staggering 44.6% decline in revenue, largely due to the loss of a major customer and shifts in Medicare reimbursement policies. Its most recent quarterly reports projected further revenue decreases. Despite this, the business maintained impressive gross profit margins, often exceeding 90%, indicating a fundamentally sound, if challenged, product.

Strive’s leadership has been clear about its intentions. According to the company, the plan is to “monetize the operating business from the Semler Scientific subsidiary” within 12 months of the transaction's close. The proceeds from this monetization are earmarked to retire significant legacy debt, including a $100 million convertible note and a $20 million loan from Coinbase. This suggests Strive is not looking to become a long-term operator in the medical device space, but rather sees Semler’s healthcare arm as a valuable, non-dilutive source of capital to deleverage its balance sheet and further streamline its focus on the Bitcoin treasury.

A New Brain Trust for a Hybrid Strategy

To execute this complex integration and monetization, Strive has fortified its leadership team with a blend of talent from the worlds of healthcare, finance, and cryptocurrency. The most notable appointment is that of Avik Roy as Chief Strategy Officer. Roy's resume is uniquely suited for the task at hand; he trained as a physician at Yale Medical School and a scientist at MIT, later working in biotech investing at Bain Capital and J.P. Morgan. His experience is further augmented by his public policy work as a Senior Fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, giving him deep insights into both domains Strive now occupies. His initial mandate is to oversee the strategy for Semler’s healthcare assets.

Joining him is Eric Semler, the former Chairman of Semler Scientific, who will take a seat on Strive's board as an independent member. An experienced investor with a history of value creation at public companies, Semler brings crucial continuity and institutional knowledge from the acquired company. Rounding out the new strategic team is Joe Burnett, formerly Semler's Director of Bitcoin Strategy, who will now serve as Strive's VP of Bitcoin Strategy, consolidating the expertise that made both companies early adopters of a bitcoin-centric treasury.

This new leadership structure appears purpose-built to navigate the dual challenges of maximizing a corporate Bitcoin treasury while efficiently extracting value from a legacy healthcare technology business.

Market Skepticism and Strategic Risks

The announcement of the deal's approval was met with a volatile market reaction. In the days leading up to the close, shares of both Strive (ASST) and Semler Scientific (SMLR) saw significant drops, with Strive falling approximately 12% on one day. Analysts pointed to investor concerns over the premium paid for Semler and the inherent execution risk of integrating two vastly different businesses. The potential for unrealized losses on the acquired bitcoin, purchased at a premium, also weighed on investor sentiment.

However, the stock showed signs of recovery as the deal closed, suggesting some investors are buying into the long-term vision. Strive's management has signaled its own confidence, recently increasing the dividend on its perpetual preferred stock to 12.25%, a move designed to reward shareholders as the company executes its ambitious plan.

The path forward for Strive is a high-stakes bet on its core thesis. The company must prove it can effectively monetize the QuantaFlo business to strengthen its financial position, all while navigating the notorious volatility of the cryptocurrency market. The success of this acquisition will ultimately depend on whether this unconventional marriage of a Bitcoin treasury and a medical device company can create more value than the sum of its parts.