Healthcare AI Guy Weekly | 10/21

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Highlights if you’ve only got 2 minutes…

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AI regulation: state patchwork madness

The wave of state-level AI laws spreading across the US is starting to look like regulatory chaos vs thoughtful governance. Colorado’s new AI Act defines “algorithmic discrimination” across 12 protected classes (from age and religion to reproductive health and limited English proficiency), making model developers potentially liable if a chatbot’s output can be interpreted as biased. In California, the new SB 243 just signed in to law allows users to sue chatbot makers for emotional harm caused by AI companions. And Illinois’ law that passed ealier this year bans AI therapy altogether, forbidding chatbots from offering mental health advice in any form.

These laws are likely well-intentioned but dangerously fragmented and often don’t help as intended. Frontier US labs could be forced to navigate 50 conflicting frameworks while global rivals in China operate under single, unified standards. On top of that, smaller startups, without armies of lawyers, will likely be hit hardest.

AI is also inherently interstate. Its like trying to give every state its own internet. The intent might be protection, but the outcome is paralysis. Slower innovation, endless litigation, and a growing risk that the US loses ground in the global AI race.

A single federal framework could set clear, enforceable standards while preserving the flexibility to innovate. Until that happens, these patchwork laws may do more harm than good: especially in healthcare, where AI is already improving access and efficiency. If every state writes its own rules for medical AI or therapy chatbots, patients could end up with fewer tools, higher costs, and worse care. The way forward should be a single federal framework that ensures safety without strangling progress, so innovation (and better healthcare) can keep moving forward.

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Cleveland Clinic meets Silicon Valley

Cleveland Clinic is teaming up with Khosla Ventures in a new collaboration that connects Silicon Valley innovation directly to clinical care. The partnership gives Khosla’s portfolio companies (ex. Abridge, Rad AI, etc.) access to Cleveland Clinic physicians and real-world testing environments, helping startups validate, refine, and scale technologies spanning AI, digital health, therapeutics, and diagnostics. In return, the health system gets early access to emerging tools that can automate workflows, personalize treatments, and advance value-based care. Vinod Khosla’s has been bullish on AI in healthcare for quite some time.

The two are also exploring co-developing new companies, with Cleveland Clinic providing clinical expertise and Khosla leading on tech and scaling. It’s part of a growing wave of health system–VC partnerships that are blending startup speed with institutional knowledge (ex. General Catalyst + Summa Health deal). Partnerships like this make sense to us: they help ensure the next generation of AI tools are built with clinicians, not just for them. Co-development inside care settings could acclearte adoption, make tech more useful, and bridge the gap between startup innovation and everyday clinical practice. We expect to see more of these collaborations ahead. (link)

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Counsel Health wants to put a doctor in your pocket

Counsel Health, an AI-powered virtual care startup, just raised a $25M Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz and GV (Google Ventures) to make healthcare more accessible and affordable through chat-based care. Its core feature is a medical-grade chatbot that collects patient history, gives initial guidance, and connects users to in-house doctors within minutes. Patients can chat with a physician for $29 per visit or join an annual plan for $199 with unlimited access.

Founded by physician and former AI researcher Dr. Muthu Alagappan, Counsel integrates with national health data exchanges and uses safety systems that detect emergencies like strokes or suicidal ideation. The company claims its AI-assisted model saves $381 per member annually and has already served over 100,000 patients.

It’s a smart blend of AI efficiency and human oversight, a model that shows how AI can extend clinical reach, reduce costs, and fill critical access gaps as provider shortages grow. PS. We liked Counsel Health’s approach and knew they would continue to innovate so did a Deep Dive on them in June. Stay tuned in future Deep Dives for more standouts we’re tracking. (link)(linkedin)

Tools & Partnerships 🔧

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

TOOLS

• Google, Yale use Gemma-based AI to uncover new cancer treatment: Researchers introduced C2S-Scale 27B, a foundation model built on Google’s open Gemma family that identified silmitasertib as a drug making tumor cells 50% more visible to immune defenses, validated in living cells. (link)

• AMA launches new center for digital health & AI: The American Medical Association unveiled a new center focused on physician-led innovation in digital health and AI. It aims to ensure technology enhances patient care through evidence-based design, ethical frameworks, and clinician leadership. (link)

• Mass General study flags “sycophancy” in medical LLMs: Researchers found top models (including GPT-4, GPT-4o, and Llama 3) often echoed false medical assumptions to please users. A small fine-tune and behavioral cue cut harmful agreement from 100% to near 0%, without reducing core knowledge. (link)

• AI could reshape breast cancer screening guidelines: Doctors are using models like Mirai to analyze thousands of mammograms and outcomes, identifying who’s at highest risk and when to screen, paving the way for personalized breast cancer detection. (link)

• Mount Sinai develops InfEHR to spot hidden diseases: Researchers at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine built InfEHR, an AI system that links scattered EHR data to detect rare conditions. In tests, it identified neonatal sepsis up to 16× and kidney injury up to 7× more accurately than current tools. (link)

• Verily launches app offering clinician-backed guidance: Verily introduced Verily Me, a free app delivering personalized health advice and feeding de-identified data into its new Lifelong registry for pharma research partnerships. (link)

• Hello Heart launches AI assistant to boost medication adherence: Hello Heart introduced Nia, an AI heart health assistant offering 24/7 chat-based support, personalized insights, and pharmacist-linked medication guidance, designed to help patients stay adherent and avoid costly hospitalizations. (link)

• Lapsi debuts ambient AI stethoscope with auto-note feature: Lapsi Health unveiled Keikku 2.0, a next-gen smart stethoscope that adds ambient AI medical scribing to its core audio analytics, generating SOAP notes directly from clinician-patient conversations. (link)

• Mass General Brigham pilots AI app for primary care triage: The health system is testing an AI tool that interviews patients, reviews medical records, and suggests possible diagnoses, aimed at easing pressure from the nationwide primary care shortage. (link)

• Innovaccer launches Galaxy AI for payers: Innovaccer introduced Galaxy, a unified AI platform to automate chart retrieval, coding, and STARS analytics for payers. Its third major launch this year after Comet and Gravity. (link)

• Nabla expands ambient AI across athenaOne: Since joining athenahealth Marketplace, Nabla’s AI assistant has been adopted by 30+ provider groups and now integrates with 15+ EHRs, including Epic, Cerner, and NextGen. (link)

• Microsoft upgrades Dragon Copilot for nurses: Microsoft rolled out workflow-specific updates to Dragon Copilot, adding automation and insights for nurses alongside 16 new partner integrations, from Press Ganey to OpenEvidence. (link)

• SonderMind debuts AI Suite for therapy support: SonderMind unveiled its AI Suite to enhance client-provider engagement, offering a 24/7 companion for patients and AI-assisted prep and documentation tools for clinicians. (link)

PARTNERSHIPS

• OpenEvidence + Veeva Systems: OpenEvidence partnered with Veeva Systems to develop tools that help physicians and patients access clinical trials and accelerate adoption of new treatments. (link)

• UPMC + Abridge: UPMC is rolling out Abridge’s ambient AI documentation platform across 40 hospitals and 800 outpatient sites, reaching 12,000 clinicians by 2026. (link)

• Children’s Hospital Los Angeles + Oracle: CHLA boosted system performance by 98% after migrating to Oracle’s autonomous AI database and cloud platform, modernizing finance and operations. (link)

• Cleveland Clinic + Akasa: Cleveland Clinic is expanding its Akasa partnership to deploy a generative AI documentation integrity tool systemwide after a successful coding automation rollout. (link)

• Hackensack Meridian Health + Google Cloud: Hackensack Meridian Health scaled a Gemini-based AI agent to 7,000 clinicians across 18 hospitals and added new agents for NICU and lab data support. (link)

• Benchling + NVIDIA: Benchling partnered with NVIDIA to integrate BioNeMo models directly into BenchlingAI. The collaboration gives scientists seamless access to advanced models within their research workflows. (link)

• Wolters Kluwer + Lumeris: Wolters Kluwer Health partnered with Lumeris to integrate UpToDate Expert AI into primary care through UpToDate Connect. (link)

• Stanford Health Care + Atropos + Microsoft: Stanford Health Care integrated Atropos’s Evidence Agent into its EHR with Microsoft to deliver real-world insights and streamline documentation. (link)

• Caregility + Drexel University: Caregility and Drexel are training nursing students on AI-powered virtual care tools and smart room technology. (link)

• Ascension + Wellsheet: Ascension is deploying Wellsheet’s generative AI interface systemwide to surface patient-specific EHR data and close care gaps. (link)

Deal Desk 💸 

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

FUNDING

• Oura, a Finnish smart-ring maker, raised over $900M in Series E funding at an $11B post-money valuation. Fidelity led, joined by Elysian Park Ventures, Iconiq, Whale Rock, Atreides, and Dexcom. (link)

• OpenEvidence, a Cambridge, Mass.-based AI medical assistant for doctors, raised $200M in Series C funding at a $6B valuation led by insider GV, per the NY Times. Other backers include Coatue, Conviction Capital, and Thrive Capital. (link)

• Lila Sciences, a developer of autonomous scientific labs, raised $115M from IQT, Analog Devices, Catalio Capital Management, Dauntless Ventures, and Pennant Investors. (link)

• ExaCare AI, an NYC-based AI-powered platform for post-acute and senior care teams, raised $30M in Series A funding. Insight Partners led the round. (link)

• Brook.ai, a Seattle, Wash.-based remote health care platform, raised $28M in Series B funding. UMass Memorial Health and Morningside led the round. (link)

• Counsel Health, an NYC-based platform where patients can chat with a medical AI and then connect with a real doctor, raised $25M in Series A funding. a16z and GV led the round. (link)

• Sage Care, a Palo Alto-based healthcare technology company developing AI-powered care navigation systems, raised $20M in funding led by Yosemite. (link)

• Weave Bio, a provider of software for automating drugmakers' regulatory paperwork, raised $20M in Series A funding led by USVP. (link)

• Medmo, an NYC-based AI-powered care coordination platform for medical imaging, raised $15M in Series A funding. Covera Health led. (link)

• WellTheory, a virtual autoimmune care platform, raised $14M in Series A funding. General Catalyst led, joined by 7wire Ventures, Ingeborg Investments, Accel, Box Group, and Up2 Opportunity Fund. (link)

• Zingage, a New York-based provider of virtual home care delivery tools, raised $12.5M in seed funding. Bessemer Venture Partners led, joined by TQ Ventures, South Park Commons, and WndrCo. (link)

• OutcomesAI, an AI-enabled nursing platform, secured $10M in seed financing. Santé Ventures led the funding round. (link)

• Fourier, a startup automating medical record summaries, raised $8.4M in seed funding led by Yosemite. (link)

• Pear Suite, an operating system for community health workers, raised $7.6M in Series A funding. Rock Health Capital and Nexxus Holdings led, joined by others. (link)

• Everbright Health, an SF-based provider of mental health intervention tools, raised $7M in seed funding from W Health Ventures and Sanos Capital. (link)

• Altitude, a nurse practitioner upskilling company, raised $5.4M in seed funding led by Lerer Hippeau. (link)

• Vega Health, a marketplace helping health systems implement and track the effectiveness of AI tools, raised $4M in seed funding from Bessemer Venture Partners. (link)

• Graph AI, an SF-based regulatory safety monitoring company, raised $3M in seed funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners. (link)

• Radicait, a Boston-based developer of synthetic PET images from CT scans, raised $1.7M in preseed funding from Frontline Ventures, Gurtin Ventures, and Techstars. (link)

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

• R1 + Phare Health: R1, an RCM company, acquired Phare Health to expand its agentic AI capabilities for inpatient coding and clinical documentation. (link)

• Cairns Health + Together by Renne: Cairns Health, digital health solutions for seniors and individuals with chronic conditions, acquired Together by Renee, an AI-powered healthcare app making routine tasks easier. (link)

FUNDRAISING

• Town Hall Ventures raises $440M fund: THV announced the raise of its fourth fund of $440M. THV and its partners will invest in AI-first companies that are focused on serving less-resourced communities. (link)

Other Relevant News 🔍

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

• The future of healthtech report 2025 (link)

• Bain & Co: top healthcare IT priorities (link)

• Inside Elevance Health’s AI strategy (link)

• Karpathy: AGI is still a decade away (link)

• Healthcare AI Guy event in Philly — register for free (link)

Visuals of the Week 📸

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