Healthcare AI Guy Weekly Newsletter | 11/28

Our Picks ✨

Highlights if you’ve only got 2 minutes…

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Sam Altman is BACK

Sam Altman with the boomerang move, now back as CEO of OpenAI just five days after being booted by the company's board. His reinstatement followed an intense pressure campaign and negotiations, which included a bunch of drama and theories that we’ll spare you from.

Silicon Valley has experienced previous fumbles and self-owns, but nothing quite like what happened here. A small group of effective altruists tried to sideline a founder who now ends up with even more power than he had before. OpenAI replaced most of its board in response, inserting a more traditional group, including former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers and a former Salesforce executive. Despite the controversy, some believe this recent ‘coup’ could result in a more valuable and better-equipped organization. Going forward, all eyes will be on OpenAI’s initial mission to create safe AI and how that clashes with an increasing commercial focus. (link)

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AstraZeneca launches AI and digital unit for clinical trials

AstraZeneca is launching a new health tech business called Evinova, using AI to optimize clinical trials in order to reduce the time and costs associated with developing new drugs. The new business will sit within AstraZeneca but offer services to other pharma competitors. Evinova will offer products that use AI to help with clinical trial study design; a clinical trial solution that supports endpoint data collection; and a tool to manage and track clinical trials. With several big-name partnerships already in place and a goal to better meet the needs of health care professionals, regulators and patients. Solutions like this could allow the industry to go faster because regulators likely don’t want to audit each pharma company’s own unique solution, but in reality is also a land grab for AstraZeneca… (link)

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OpenAI chaos triggers call for AI standards in healthcare

Disruption among OpenAI’s leadership is leading to calls for increased efforts to establish standards for how generative AI is used in healthcare. Experts worry that one or two companies (namely Big Tech) could end up with too much control.

According to Glenn Cohen, Health Law Policy Director at Harvard Law School, Microsoft and Google “will have the power to set prices and establish practices for testing generative AI and assessing its risks, exerting a level of control that is ‘not ideal for physicians or patients, especially when a market is just getting off the ground.’”

The situation is similar to consolidation in the electronic health records industry where Epic and Oracle have price control due to dominant market share. Microsoft has already started to align itself with Epic to embed AI tools across healthcare… I’m not a fan of over-regulation or acting too quickly, I believe the market should decide for itself; however, one can make the argument that Big Tech has an advantage and we regulate in order to promote ‘safe’ standards. (link)

Tool Box 🧰

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

🔧 Neuralink: Neuralink is recruiting quadriplegic patients for its PRIME Study to test its brain-computer interface using the N1 implant and R1 surgical robot, aiming to enable control of devices like phones with thoughts. (link)

🔧 Machine learning for brain tumor analysis: University of Florida researchers just combined mass spectrometry scans with machine learning models to classify brain tumors with 87% accuracy, aiming to guide treatment decisions for complex malignancies and save time. (link)

🔧 Sonia: AI-powered cognitive behavioral therapist. (link)

🔧 WoeBot: your AI mental health ally. (link)

🤝 Memorial Hermann + Laudio: Memorial Hermann Health System is implementing Laudio's AI-driven workflow tool to enhance employee efficiency and engagement, with plans for system-wide expansion. The platform automates repetitive work and offers daily suggestions to help frontline workers stay connected to their teams, reducing turnover and burnout. (link)

Deal Desk 💸 

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

📈 NeuraLink: an Elon Musk-founded company developing implantable chips that use AI to read brain waves has quietly raised an additional $43M. This increases its previous investment round to a total of $323M raised—landing NeuraLink a $5B valuation. (link)

📈 Vivodyne: Philli-based AI-powered biotech that tests its drug candidates on lab-grown human organs raised $38M in seed funding. Khosla Ventures led and was joined by others. (link)

📈 Phare Health: a developer of AI products designed to help hospitals track cash flows and better understand their finances based in London, raised $3.1M in seed funding. General Catalyst led the round and was joined by others. (link) 

📈 Callyope: an AI-based mental health monitoring company announced €2.2M in funding. The funding was co-led by 360 Capital and BPI Digital Venture. (link)

✅ Aya Healthcare + Winnow AI: Digital staffing platform Aya Healthcare acquired Winnow AI to bolster its physician recruitment capabilities with AI-driven matches for open roles and predictive modeling of which physicians are likely to change jobs and be willing to relocate. (link)

Other Relevant News 🔍

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

• a16z: AI is the teammate clinicians need (link)

• Viz.ai uses AI to improve care for patients (link)

• Opinion: consumers believe AI will improve healthcare (link)

• Rapid advancements in AI complicating government regulation (link)

• How to infuse AI with empathy (link)

• Opinion: use healthtech AI to make drugs more affordable (link)

• Bill Gates says AI could pave way for three-day workweek (link)

• Timeline of events following the OpenAI fallout (link)

Visuals of the Week 📸

Funny memes, cool pics, and interesting data from around the web…