Healthcare AI Guy Weekly | 5/13

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Highlights if you’ve only got 2 minutes…

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OpenAI launches into healthcare

OpenAI just launched HealthBench, a major new benchmark for evaluating how well AI models (LLMs) perform in realistic healthcare scenarios. It’s the company’s first direct step into health beyond external partnerships, and it comes with an open-source dataset and detailed evaluation rubrics that experts are calling “unprecedented” in scale and depth. Developed with 262 physicians from 60 countries, HealthBench includes 5,000 multi-turn conversations that test models on accuracy, context, and completeness across triage, global health, patient communication, and more. Across frontier models, o3 is the best performing model with a score of 60%, followed by Grok 3 (54%) and Gemini 2.5 Pro (52%). Most problems in HealthBench are of moderate difficulty, and few problems are solved by all the LLMs, so there is still considerable room for improvement. That said, this is a big step forward in building trust and accelerating safe AI adoption in healthcare by offering a standardized, transparent way to compare model performance—we are huge fans! (link)(tweet)

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YC request for startups: healthcare AI

Y Combinator just dropped its Summer 2025 Requests for Startups list, and unsurprisingly, AI agents are front and center. YC calls 2025 the “year of AI agents” and highlights healthcare as one of the most urgent and promising use cases. The US spends over $1 trillion annually on healthcare administration, much of it due to outdated workflows, siloed systems, and the lack of APIs. But with recent breakthroughs in large language models, many of those manual, repetitive tasks can now be automated. YC points to a wave of new startups building AI agents that extract, structure, and re-enter data across messy systems like PDFs, faxes, or disconnected EHRs. The message is clear: if you can reduce friction in healthcare ops with agents, YC wants to fund you. It’s a major call to action for builders focused on streamlining the US healthcare system, and there’s no better time to start than now. (link)

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AI comes to the FDA

The FDA just made its boldest move yet toward adopting generative AI across its operations. In a sweeping announcement, Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary unveiled plans to roll out AI tools across all FDA centers by June 30, 2025, following a successful pilot that drastically cut scientific review times. “I was blown away by the success of our first AI-assisted scientific review pilot,” Makary said. “We need to value our scientists’ time and reduce the amount of non-productive busywork that has historically consumed much of the review process. The agency-wide deployment of these capabilities holds tremendous promise in accelerating the review time for new therapies.”

The rollout is being led by the FDA’s first Chief AI Officer, Jeremy Walsh. Meanwhile, OpenAI is in ongoing talks with the FDA to support internal projects like “cderGPT” and “Research GPT.” While the speed of implementation has raised concerns, the FDA is clearly signaling that AI is no longer experimental; it’s essential. (link)(tweet)

Tools & Partnerships 🔧

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

TOOLS

• AI uncovers new Alzheimer’s trigger and potential pill-based treatment: UC San Diego researchers used AI imaging to identify a hidden function of the protein PHGDH that may spark early Alzheimer’s. A compound called NCT-503 blocked the damage in mouse trials, offering a possible future oral treatment. (link)

• Neuralink enables ALS patient to communicate via brain implant: Brad Smith, the first person with ALS to receive Neuralink’s brain-computer interface, can now communicate despite being fully non-verbal. He’s the third person globally to be implanted with the device, which translates brain signals into digital text. (link)

• FutureHouse launches AI agents to supercharge scientific research: Backed by Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt, FutureHouse unveiled four specialized AI agents—Crow, Falcon, Owl, and Phoenix—to help researchers navigate literature and databases. The tools outperform PhDs in search and synthesis and are now available via web and API. (link)

• Epic debuts AI assistant for appointment scheduling via text: Epic rolled out a new feature that lets patients book appointments through conversational SMS with an AI assistant, no portal logins or hold times required. Some health systems have already begun adopting the tool, according to the company. (link)

• ŌURA adds AI-powered meal and glucose tracking to its smart ring platform: ŌURA launched two new metabolic health features, Meals and Glucose, integrating dietary insights with Dexcom’s over-the-counter glucose sensor, Stelo. The updates aim to give users more personalized, real-time feedback on metabolic health via the Oura App. (link)

• Mount Sinai first to roll out ChatGPT to all medical students: The Icahn School of Medicine is rolling out ChatGPT Edu to all students and select faculty, marking a major step toward integrating AI into medical education and training. (link)

• Relatient rolls out Dash Voice AI to automate patient scheduling calls: Dash Voice AI handles appointment confirmations, rescheduling, and cancellations via phone, offloading up to 25% of call volume. The tool frees up staff to focus on more complex patient needs. (link)

• Pager Health launches AI agent to boost wellness program engagement: Pager unveiled a conversational AI companion to guide health plan members through wellness programs. The agent helps users connect devices, complete assessments, and access rewards. (link)

• Limbic rolls out voice AI to support behavioral health intake calls: Limbic launched a 24/7 voice AI agent to help behavioral health providers manage patient intake, starting with overflow and after-hours calls. The agent answers common care questions and routes patients to text-based clinical assessments, aiming to reduce staff burden and prevent missed connections. (link)

• Lyra Health debuts Lyra Empower to unify and expand its AI offerings: The new platform centralizes Lyra’s AI tools while introducing features like a well-being dashboard for HR, care needs prediction for members, and provider tools to streamline scheduling and documentation. Rollout will continue over the next year. (link)

• Anthropic launches AI for Science program with free API access for researchers: The new initiative offers free API credits to scientists working on high-impact research, especially in biology and life sciences, aiming to accelerate breakthroughs using Claude and other AI tools. (link)

PARTNERSHIPS

• OpenAI + FDA: OpenAI is in active talks with the FDA to explore how AI (via a project dubbed cderGPT) could accelerate drug evaluation and approval, as the agency completes its first AI-assisted scientific review. (link)

• Curai Health + Rula Health: Curai Health, an AI-powered virtual clinic, is partnering with Rula Health, a behavioral health provider, to give Curai patients access to Rula's network of licensed therapists and psychiatric providers. (link)

• AltaMed + Abridge: AltaMed, the largest FQHC in the U.S., is deploying Abridge’s ambient AI platform across its Southern California network to generate clinical documentation in 28+ languages and support its diverse patient population. (link)

• Color + Memorial Sloan Kettering: Color is partnering with MSK to expand access to expert cancer care nationwide, combining MSK Direct with Color’s virtual care teams for risk assessments, second opinions, and treatment support. (link)

• Hackensack Meridian Health + Equum + AvaSure: HMH is launching a systemwide Virtual Nursing Program by combining Equum’s virtual nurses with AvaSure’s AI-driven decision support, aiming to streamline admissions, discharges, and bedside care. (link)

• Stanford Health Care + Atropos Health: Stanford is using Atropos Health’s real-world data platform to deliver personalized, evidence-based insights at the point of care. (link)

• Allegheny Health + Humata Health: Allegheny Health is implementing Humata’s AI-powered solution to enable fully “touchless” prior authorizations, streamlining payer-provider workflows. (link)

• GE HealthCare + Spectronic Medical: GE HealthCare is integrating Spectronic’s AI platform to generate synthetic CT images from standard MR scans, enhancing imaging efficiency and planning. (link)

• Suki + athenahealth: Suki’s AI scribe is now generally available through athenahealth’s Ambient Notes, expanding their partnership and streamlining documentation for clinicians. (link)

Deal Desk 💸 

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

FUNDING

• Clarium, a New York City-based AI hospital supply chain platform, raised $27M in Series A funding from Northzone, General Catalyst, and others. (link)

• Inductive Bio, an AI-driven drug discovery startup, raised $25M in Series A funding. Obvious Ventures led, joined by a16z, Lux Capital, S32, Character, and Amino Collective. (link)

• Carta Healthcare, an SF-based provider of AI-powered clinical data abstraction, raised $18.3M in Series B1 funding. UPMC Enterprises led the round and was joined by MemorialCare Innovation Fund, Rex Health Ventures, Tampa General Hospital Ventures, and existing investors. (link)

• StackAI, an SF-based enterprise AI agents developer, raised $16M in funding from Lobby VC, LifeX Ventures, Guillermo Rauch, Bob Van Luijt, existing investors Gradient, Y Combinator, Epakon Capital, angel investors, and others. (link)

• QbDVision, an Austin-based drug development and manufacturing digitization company, raised $13M in Series A funding. Northpond Ventures and S3 Ventures led the round and were joined by Create Health Ventures and other existing investors. (link)

• Kouper, an NYC-based health technology platform, raised $10M in funding from General Catalyst, 25Madison, and CVS Health Ventures. (link)

• Trilobio, an SF-based lab automation company, raised $8M in seed funding. Initialized Capital led, joined by Argon Ventures and Lowercarbon Capital. (link)

• Alphabiome, a Tel Aviv-based AI-powered microbiome intelligence technology developer company, raised $8M in seed funding. AIX Ventures and New Era Capital Partners led the round and were joined by others. (link)

• CueZen, a digital health personalization startup, raised $5M in seed funding. Point72 Ventures led, joined by Pack VC, Fortson VC, and Nextinfinity. (link)

• ReportAId, a Milan-based AI-powered medical record interpretation platform, raised $2.5M in pre-seed funding. Italian Founders Fund led the round and was joined by Heartfelt, Exceptional Ventures, 2100 Ventures, angel investors, and others. (link)

FUNDRAISING

• Cedars-Sinai + Redesign Health: Cedars-Sinai partnered with startup builder Redesign Health to launch a “sustainable innovation center” that will scale up digital-first healthcare ventures with day one clinical guidance from Cedars-Sinai. (link)

Other Relevant News 🔍

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

• Digital health company Omada Health files to go public (link)

• Rock Health top 50 in digital health (link)

• AI in healthcare: key learnings from Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin (link)

• Cedars-Sinai appoints chief AI health research officer (link)

• Elizabeth Holmes' partner has a new blood-testing startup (link)

Visuals of the Week 📸

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