Healthcare AI Guy Weekly | 4/29

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State of Digital Health Q1’25

CB Insights just released its State of Digital Health Q1’25 report, highlighting a major rebound across funding, M&A, and unicorn creation. Investors are doubling down on AI-driven, specialized market leaders. Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• $5.3B raised in digital health funding, highest since Q2’22, with a 47% QoQ increase despite fewer deals, signaling that capital is concentrating around stronger companies.

• 46% of funding came from mega-rounds ($100M+), totaling $2.5B across 11 deals, 8 of which were AI-focused.

• 60% of all funding went to AI-focused startups ($3.2B), up from 41% in 2024.

• 27% rise in M&A activity, with 51 deals — highest since Q1’23, driven entirely by U.S. buyers.

• 6 new unicorns emerged — the most in a single quarter since Q2’22. Half are AI-first, including Abridge, OpenEvidence, and Hippocratic AI.

  (link)(tweet)

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White House mandates AI leadership at federal agencies

A new White House directive is pushing federal agencies to scale AI adoption. President Trump’s Executive Order 14179, signed in January, removes barriers to U.S. AI leadership. An April 3 memo outlines a sweeping mandate to cut red tape, improve public services, and protect civil liberties. Here are 5 key takeaways:

1. Chief AI officers required: Each federal agency must appoint a chief AI officer within 60 days. These leaders will oversee AI adoption, ensure compliance with risk management protocols, and work to build an AI-ready workforce.

2. Healthcare implications: The memo highlights “high-impact” AI use cases, subject to heightened oversight, including tools used in diagnosis, treatment decisions, health insurance eligibility, and care allocation in public programs.

3. Buy American, open-source code: In line with the executive order’s “buy American” policy, agencies are directed to prioritize AI tools developed in the U.S. and avoid vendor lock-in. They must also release custom-developed code and data assets as open source, except where security or privacy concerns apply.

4. Generative AI policies by 2026: Agencies must develop formal policies for generative AI use by early 2026.

5. Upskilling and hiring: The memo encourages agencies to train current staff and recruit experienced AI professionals, emphasizing demand for talent with both machine learning expertise and regulatory know-how.

Although the directive targets federal agencies, its standards could serve as a model for health systems aiming to build public trust and internal rigor around AI use. (link)

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Google DeepMind CEO: AI could end all disease

Nobel laureate and DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis shared bold predictions about AI’s future on 60 Minutes, highlighting its transformative potential in medicine. Hassabis said AI could compress drug discovery timelines from years to weeks and even suggested the possibility of eliminating all disease within a decade. He also demoed DeepMind’s “Project Astra,” an AI assistant capable of visual understanding and emotional recognition. While he predicts AGI could arrive within 5–10 years, he cautioned that today’s AI isn’t conscious yet. Coming from a leader like Hassabis, these claims signal real momentum behind AI’s next medical revolution. It’s hard not to get excited about that future! (link)

Tools & Partnerships 🔧

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

TOOLS

• Adventist HealthCare deploys KATE AI to flag high-risk ED patients: Adventist HealthCare is using KATE AI in its emergency departments to detect critical conditions like sepsis and heart attacks, guiding care teams with real-time risk assessments and treatment recommendations. (link)

• CHLA builds first pediatric sleep registry using Apple Watch data: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is launching WISE-HARE, an AI-powered app and national registry to collect sleep data from kids at home via Apple Watch, aiming to train models that detect high-risk sleep disorders without specialized equipment. (link)

• Innovaccer launched Copilots and Agents for Care Management: These new tools are automating outreach, scheduling, and documentation. Early results show a 28% reduction in documentation time and a 20% boost in patient engagement. (link)

• Mount Sinai wins FDA nod for AI that detects heart disease from ECGs: Researchers at Mount Sinai developed an FDA-approved algorithm that flags hypertrophic cardiomyopathy by assigning risk scores from routine ECGs, aiding early diagnosis and intervention. (link)

• Infinitus adds hallucination-free AI voice agent for patients: Infinitus debuted a new voice agent that completes health risk assessments with Medicare patients, enabling payers to reduce manual outreach and accelerate care plan initiation, building on 100M+ minutes of automated calls. (link)

• More than 600 health systems are using Microsoft’s AI scribe tool: With over 600 health systems onboard, Microsoft’s Dragon Copilot is betting on openness and ecosystem integration to compete with fast-moving scribe startups like Abridge and Suki. (link)

• Velatura launches AI-powered Consent Manager+ to streamline patient data sharing: Velatura unveiled Consent Manager+, an AI-driven tool for managing patient consent across HIEs and TDSOs, with its first major rollout at J&B Medical. (link)

PARTNERSHIPS

• Tempus + AstraZeneca + Pathos: Tempus is partnering with AstraZeneca and Pathos AI to develop a multimodal AI model using its de-identified cancer data, aiming to accelerate drug discovery and clinical insights in oncology. (link)

• Nabla + Altera: Nabla’s AI assistant is now integrated with Altera’s Paragon Denali EHR, enabling clinicians in critical access and community hospitals to auto-generate clinical notes in under five seconds, saving up to two hours a day. (link)

• Hippocratic AI + Burjeel Holdings: UAE-based Burjeel is rolling out Hippocratic AI’s safety-focused generative agents across its facilities for patient-facing, non-diagnostic tasks, enhancing engagement through empathetic, multilingual support. (link)

• ConcertAI + Bayer: Bayer is tapping ConcertAI’s Translational360 and AI SaaS tools to speed clinical development in precision oncology, leveraging insights from over 9M anonymized cancer records across the U.S. (link)

Deal Desk 💸 

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

FUNDING

• Neuralink, Elon Musk’s neurotech company, is reportedly in talks to raise $500M at an $8.5B pre-money valuation. (link)

• Healthee, a New York-based health benefits navigation startup, raised $50M in Series B funding. Key1 Capital led, joined by Fin Capital, Glilot Capital Partners, and Group11. (link)

• Superpower, a health early detection app, raised $30M in Series A funding. Forerunner led, joined by Day One Ventures, Susa Ventures, Long Journey Ventures, Family Fund, Opal Ventures, Valia Ventures, Visible Ventures, Vanessa Hudgens, Steve Aoki, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. (link)

• Reducto, an SF-based startup that helps LLMs read documents, raised $24.5M in Series A funding. Benchmark led, joined by insiders First Round Capital, YC, and BoxGroup. (link)

• Overture Life, an IVF automation startup, raised $20.6M led by Overwater Ventures with GV participating. (link)

• Ascertain, a NYC-based AI-powered case management assistant for healthcare, raised $10M in Series A funding. Deerfield Management led the round and was joined by Northwell Health. (link)

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

• Reveleer + Novillus: Value-based care automation company Reveleer acquired Novillus, adding its provider engagement and care gap management tools to Reveleer’s AI-driven payor platform. (link)

Other Relevant News 🔍

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

• Acquired podcast on Epic Systems (link)

• Great takeaway from Stanford’s AI Index 2025 results (link)

• Which health systems have AI chiefs? (link)

• Patients prefer radiologist image interpretation over AI (link)

• Exa released a “webset” of 500 companies in the AI Agent space (link)

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Visuals of the Week 📸

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