From Precision Care to Scalable Impact: A Conversation with António Murta ahead of Tech Tour Mental & Brain Health 2025
As the global spotlight intensifies on cognitive health, Tech Tour Mental & Brain Health 2025 promises to be a defining moment for innovation in this space. Culminating at a live event in Porto, Portugal, on 11–12 September, this investment programme gathers a highly curated group of startups, investors, and experts dedicated to advancing solutions in mental and brain health.
We spoke with António Murta, Vice President of the programme and Managing Partner at Pathena, to hear his perspective on what makes this event unique — and why now is a pivotal moment for investment in this domain.
TT: What makes the Tech Tour Mental & Brain Health 2025 investment programme a standout opportunity for investors, compared to other health tech events on the calendar?
AM: What sets this programme apart is its sharp, singular focus. Mental and brain health are often treated as adjacent sectors, but they are distinct in complexity, patient journeys, and innovation requirements. This event gives both the attention they deserve.
We’re also building on the strong investor network developed over the years through the Tech Tour Health Growth event in Lausanne. That community has organically grown into one of the most sophisticated and engaged networks in Europe. For investors, this is not just another conference — it’s a trusted, high-quality forum where meaningful conversations and real investment decisions take place.
TT: What key qualities or innovations are you looking for in the selected companies this year? What sets a company apart in such a specialized field?
AM: For me, it’s about focus and modularity. A great company in this field needs to be deeply specialized, but also capable of integrating or complementing others across the value chain. We’re not just looking for vertical excellence — we’re looking for collaborative potential.
I’m especially interested in solutions that address the full spectrum of care: wellbeing, acute interventions, and chronic conditions. Scalability and meaningful impact are essential. The world is facing a growing crisis in mental health, and we need solutions that can operate at scale, while remaining effective for the individual.
TT: Mental and brain health solutions are rapidly evolving. From your vantage point, what emerging trends or technologies are you most excited to see showcased at the event?
AM: There’s real momentum building around several exciting areas. I believe Digital Therapeutics (DTx) are reaching the point of widespread adoption, and we’ll see them take on a far more significant role in treatment plans.
I’m also watching closely for precision therapeutic solutions — interventions tailored to individual patients based on their unique profiles. On the data side, high-compliance tools that capture real-world inputs like sleep and mobility are becoming essential. And then there’s companion software — technology that helps ensure patients receive the right dose, at the right time, with the right support. These innovations are pushing us toward continuous, real-life care models, and away from episodic, hospital-centered systems.
TT: The agenda includes tech tracks from Data & AI to Therapeutics. How does the diversity of innovation areas represented here influence the investment conversations and partnerships formed during the event?
AM: This diversity is absolutely critical. The cross-pollination of ideas between tech verticals enables lower-cost, faster clinical trials, particularly in medtech and pharma. It also helps us move towards performance-based healthcare models, which are especially important in brain and mental health, where traditional therapies haven’t always delivered optimal results.
It is exciting to see how AI and data-driven automation can integrate with clinical insights to create closed-loop systems — adaptive platforms that continuously learn and improve care delivery, going up in the smart value chain.
TT: Looking ahead, how do you envision the mental and brain health innovation landscape evolving over the next 5 years?
AM: We’ll see broader adoption of specific biomarkers that allow for earlier diagnosis, better staging, and more accurate tracking of disease progression. That alone could transform outcomes.
We’re also heading toward a world of remote, real-time patient monitoring, which will make medical consultations more informed and more impactful. Ultimately, I believe we’re moving toward a model of personalized and continuous medicine — where patients receive care that’s uniquely tailored to them, over time, and supported by data every step of the way.
The field of mental and brain health is incredibly exciting — from precision care and real-world data to smarter, more connected solutions. António Murta’s insights highlight why now is the time to invest in this rapidly evolving space and the importance of bringing the right people together to drive meaningful change.
Join us at Tech Tour Mental & Brain Health 2025 in Porto, Portugal, on 11–12 September — a unique opportunity to connect with top innovators and investors shaping the future of brain and mental health. Discover breakthrough technologies, spark new partnerships, and be part of a community leading the next wave of healthcare innovation. Register now to secure your spot and take advantage of early bird pricing.
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