Big Ideas 2026: Healthy MAUs
In 2026, a new healthcare customer segment will take center stage: the “healthy MAUs.*”
The traditional healthcare system has primarily served three main user segments: (a) “sick MAUs”: people with spiky, high-cost needs; (b) “sick DAUs*”: like those in intensive, long-term care; and (c) “healthy YAUs*”: relatively healthy individuals who rarely see a doctor. Healthy YAUs are at risk of becoming Sick MAUs/DAUs, and preventive care could slow that shift. But our reaction-pilled healthcare reimbursement system rewards treatment over prevention, so access to proactive check-ins and monitoring services are not prioritized, and insurance rarely covers them anyway.
Enter Healthy MAUs: consumers who aren’t actively sick but want to monitor and understand their health on a recurring basis—and also represent the potentially largest portion of the consumer population. We expect a wave of companies—both AI-native upstarts, and repackaged versions of incumbents—to start offering recurring services to serve this user base.
With AI’s potential to reduce the cost structure of care delivery, the advent of novel health insurance products focused on prevention, and consumers more comfortable paying for subscription-based models out of pocket, “healthy MAUs” represent the next high-potential customer segment for healthtech: continuously engaged, data-informed, and prevention oriented.
Read more about this and all the other great Big Ideas for 2026 from the a16z team
* DAU = Daily Active User, MAU = Monthly Active User, YAU = Yearly Active User
