ARPA-H
Also known as: Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health
US federal agency that funds high-risk, high-reward health research through milestone-based contracts. Relevant for HealthTech and Digital Medicine teams with ambitious, mission-driven propositions at Seed and Seed+ stage.
Full Definition
ARPA-H — the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health — is a US federal agency created in 2022, modelled on DARPA. It funds high-risk, high-reward health research aimed at producing transformative breakthroughs that traditional funding mechanisms would not support. Unlike NIH, ARPA-H does not fund incremental research; it funds programmes designed to solve hard problems in defined timeframes.
Within the GAITS Funding Readiness Framework, ARPA-H is most relevant at Seed and Seed+ stages for HealthTech and Digital Medicine companies with an ambitious, mission-driven proposition. ARPA-H uses Programme Managers who actively shape and fund programmes — teams do not apply to standing calls in the same way as SBIR. Engagement typically involves direct outreach to a relevant Programme Manager whose portfolio aligns with the innovation.
ARPA-H awards are non-dilutive and structured around milestone-based contracts. Award sizes vary widely depending on programme scope. Teams targeting ARPA-H should be able to articulate a bold, specific health challenge, a high-risk technical approach, and a clear success metric — not just a product roadmap.
A team developing an AI-powered platform for real-time sepsis prediction in ICUs approaches an ARPA-H Programme Manager working on hospital-acquired condition prevention. Rather than submitting a standard grant application, the team presents a programme concept: reduce sepsis mortality in ICU settings by 40% within three years through continuous multimodal monitoring and automated clinical alerts. The Programme Manager shapes a contract around this goal. The award is non-dilutive and milestone-based — success is measured against the clinical outcome target, not just technology development.