Former Medtronic CEO and current Intel Chairman Omar Ishrak is one of the leaders of a new health-tech company that has filed for a $750 million initial public offering.
Compute Health Acquisition Corp. is what is called a "blank check" company, hoping to build itself by investing or buying businesses that are "at the intersection of computation and health care."
Compute Health could start with strong ties to the company Ishrak led as CEO from 2011 to last spring. Medtronic has expressed interest in buying 1.5 million units in the IPO, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Compute Health expects to sell 75 million units priced at $10 each and pursue an acquisition of a company, according to the SEC filing. Advancements in data access and artificial intelligence are helping to push innovation, the filing said.
Ishrak is chairman of Compute Health's board.
One of its co-chief executives also has ties to Medtronic, which is run out of Fridley. Jean Nehme helped found artificial-intelligence startup Digital Surgery Ltd. and sold it to Medtronic. The other co-CEO is Joshua Fink, who runs investment firm Ophir Holdings LLC and is the son of BlackRock Inc.'s Larry Fink, according to Bloomberg News.
"We see the application of this growing computational power and AI to health care as ubiquitous, from the home to primary and secondary care services," Compute Health said in the filing. "Many companies and services have adopted mobile and cloud computing and are moving quickly to computational intelligence, or CI, often at the point of care, or 'edge.' "
The company said it did not select any specific target business or have substantive discussions with any business regarding a merger or acquisition.
Medtronic's interest isn't a binding agreement, but the company has increased the number of connected devices it has introduced. For example, more of its cardiac and diabetes management products can now be remotely monitored or programmed.
Geoff Martha, Ishrak's successor as Medtronic's chief executive, said last week at this year's J.P. Morgan Health Care Conference that the pandemic increased demand for those products, and he believes it will continue. More connected products are in the pipeline.
Ishrak stepped down in December as chairman of Medtronic's board of directors. Since 2017, Ishrak has also served on the board of Intel Corp. and he is currently the chairman.
Nicole Norfleet • 612-673-4495
