Healthcare AI Guy Weekly Newsletter | 10/10

Our Picks ✨

Highlights if you’ve only got 2 minutes…

1/

AI wearables

There has been increasing momentum in the AI wearable space. A lot of companies (Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Neuralink, etc.) are all announcing new hardware integrated with AI tech, using the technology to augment human intelligence.

This obviously raises a lot of privacy concerns and is facing blowback, however, humans have proven they’ll throw privacy out the window if they can trade it for pleasure (convenience, entertainment, money, fame, etc). We already carry around GPS trackers in our phones, we bring microphones into the bedroom, and a camera with us in the bathroom. We give our data to companies thru tech on a daily basis.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in healthcare. There’s more ‘heavy-duty’ Neuralink which focuses on neurological conditions, but there could be a market for a ‘lighter-weight’ solution that tracks your habits/diet and recommends healthier alternatives over time. The wearable AI-tech gaining the most attention below:

• Humane AI Pin

• Meta AI's Ray-Ban glasses 

• Microsoft's AI backpack

• OpenAI iPhone?

• Rewind Pendant

• Neuralink

• What's next?

2/

Kaiser docs to use Nabla’s AI copilot

As 75,000 Kaiser workers embarked on a three-day strike, the biggest healthcare strike in US history, Kaiser announced a deal with Nabla to provide an AI assistant to doctors.

Nabla, an AI clinical scribe startup from Paris, will roll out its Copilot product to 10,000 doctors in Northern California. The tool transcribes an entire provider-patient conversation and then generates a structured, EHR-integrated clinical note. Doctors using Nabla Copilot report saving 1.5 hours a day with the tool and less than 5% of the generated notes are modified by doctors.

The AI copilot space is getting competitive, with companies like Nuance, Augmedix, Suki, Corti, abridge, etc all rushing to market. Hopefully, this partnership will help alleviate some of the burnout the providers are experiencing at Kaiser. (link)

3/

Commure to merge with Athelas

Commure, a provider of healthcare technology solutions, and Athelas, a healthcare workflow automation and revenue cycle software provider, plan to merge in order to expand their presence in the health system market. The merger is expected to be completed by the end of October, with the combined company retaining the Commure name and being led by Athelas co-founder and CEO Tanay Tandon.

The merger will combine Athelas' language model expertise with Commure's software and hardware solutions, allowing for the integration of language models and workflow automation technology into larger health systems. Both companies are backed by General Catalyst who is supporting the merger with $70M of funding, valuing the business at $6B. The combined company is on a $110M revenue run rate, meaning the business is currently valued at ~55x revenue. With a focus on enhancing healthcare infrastructure, this union is poised to drive innovation, efficiency, and automation within the healthcare sector. (link)

Tool Box 🧰

Latest on business, consumer, and clinical healthcare AI tools and partnerships…

🔧 Atropos Health: Atropos Health, maker of a real-world data platform, launched a new operating system and a chatbot interface. The system helps non-technical users query real-world clinical data and get publication-grade results in minutes. (link)

🔧 Invenio Imaging: Invenio Imaging, one of the first medtech startups launched through NVIDIA’s AI accelerator, is quickly moving along the path toward clinical use for its NIO Lung Cancer Reveal tool. The NIO uses AI to allow clinicians to evaluate biopsies in minutes without leaving the operating room, bypassing the weeks-long pathology lab process. (link)

🔧 Elation Health: Elation Health, an EHR provider, is expanding its reach to offer an ‘all-in-one’ solution, unifying EHR and billing software system for independent primary care practices and other providers designed to support value-based care. (link)

🤝 GE Healthcare + University Hospitals: GE HealthCare partnered with Ohio-based University Hospitals to provide equipment and digital solutions. GE will provide digital technology like AI, as well as nuclear medicine, X-ray, CT, and more. (link)

Deal Desk 💸 

Spotlight on latest capital raises, M&A and investments…

📈 Iambic Therapeutics: an AI-powered drug discovery platform based in La Jolla, CA raised $100M in Series B funding. Ascenta Capital and Abingworth led the round and were joined by NVIDIA, Illumina Ventures, Gradiant Corporation, and others. (link)

📈 Commure + Athelas: Commure, healthcare technology provider, to merge with Athelas, RCM software company, and raised $70M of fresh funding from General Catalyst. (link)

📈 Automata Technologies: a robotics and automation provider for the life science industries based in London, UK raised $40M in funding. Dimension led the round and was joined by A.P. Moller Holding and others. (link)

📈 Holmusk: a behavioral health real-world evidence company, raised $30M from health care data firm Veradigm (Nasdaq: MDRX). (link)

📈 Plenful: a workflow automation platform to streamline pharmacy operations based in San Fransisco, CA raised $9M in seed funding from Bessemer Venture Partners. (link)

📈 Lokavant: a clinical trial intelligence platform startup based in New York raised $8M in additional Series A funding from Mitsui & Co. (link)

📈 Atalan Tech: a clinician burnout and turnover predictions startup based in Boston, MA raised $2.5M in seed funding led by Excelerate Health Ventures and OCA Ventures. (link)

Other Relevant News 🔍

News, podcasts, blogs, tweets, resources, etc…

• Generative AI in healthcare poised to grow by $21B by 2032 (link)

• 50 top-rated emerging healthcare IT vendors for 2023 (link)

• Dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine: Why AI is medicine’s biggest moment since antibiotics (link)

• 3 ways AI is revolutionizing how health organizations serve patients (link)

• ChatGPT's ability to make patient-friendly reports (link)

• Automation in healthcare: the marriage of AI and RPA for RCM organizations (link)

• Sam Altman interview on The Joe Rogan podcast (link)

AI Images of the Week 📸

Funny memes and pics from around the web…