Healthcare AI Guy Weekly | 8/12

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Highlights if you’ve only got 2 minutes…

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OpenAI drops major updates

Amid a reported new $300B valuation and ChatGPT usage surging to nearly 700M weekly users (up from 500M in March and 4× since last year), OpenAI is shipping a wave of updates, many with clear healthcare implications. Overall, better models, fewer hallucinations, new open-source offerings, and guardrails for overuse.

• GPT-5 launch: Faster than GPT-4o, smarter than o3, and free for all users, GPT-5 is OpenAI’s most factual and reliable model to date. It also tops HealthBench, a benchmark built with 250 doctors, making it especially strong for clinical queries. (link)

• Sam Altman on GPT-5 for health: Sam Altman says GPT-5 is “much better” at health questions, one of ChatGPT’s biggest use cases, and is now the company’s best-performing health model ever. (link)

• GPT-5 criticism: Some critics say GPT-5 is less of a clear leap than past updates, focusing less on pushing the frontier and more on smart cost optimization, routing simple queries to smaller models and complex ones to advanced reasoning systems. (link)

• Open-source push: OpenAI finally dropped open-weight models (gpt-oss-120B & 20B), offering near-frontier reasoning that can be deployed locally. This is a big deal for regulated industries like healthcare, where running models without sending sensitive data to the cloud can accelerate adoption. (link)

• Mental health safeguards: OpenAI added tools to better detect distress, link users to evidence-based resources, and add usage nudges, aiming for healthier, more responsible ChatGPT use. (link)

• $1 gov’t offer: OpenAI is making ChatGPT Enterprise available to all U.S. federal agencies for just $1/year, paired with unlimited model use for 60 days and a dedicated training community. (link)

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Healthcare AI stocks flying

While legacy healthcare stocks lag the S&P 500 by the widest margin in 24+ years, healthcare AI names are surging, posting double-digit growth, expanding AI capabilities, and eyeing new high-margin opportunities. Here’s how HNGE, DOCS, TEM, and OMDA did:

• Hinge Health ($HNGE): Shares jumped 23% after Q2 earnings, with revenue up 55% YoY and strong cash flow in its first quarter post-IPO. The AI-powered MSK platform, featuring motion tracking, FDA-cleared wearables, and AI care teams, is scaling fast, and its new HingeSelect in-person provider network could open a high-margin revenue stream starting 2027. (link)

• Doximity ($DOCS): Stock rose 6% after beating Q126 estimates and announcing the $63M acquisition of Pathway, an AI clinical reference tool with one of the largest structured datasets in medicine. Pathway will bolster Doximity’s AI capabilities beyond its existing Doximity GPT. They also recently launched a free scribe offering. (link)

• Tempus AI ($TEM): Revenue surged 90% YoY to $315M, driven by 115% growth in its advanced genetic testing business, performing over 212K patient tests that help match treatments to individual cancers. Tempus expanded its AI-driven oncology tools, integrated its generative AI assistant into major EHRs, and hit a new milestone of 350+ petabytes of connected clinical and molecular data. (link)

• Omada Health ($OMDA): Revenue grew 49% YoY to $61M in its first quarter as a public company, driven by chronic disease programs for diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and MSK. Omada highlighted OmadaSpark, an AI nutrition coach, and expanded its GLP-1 Companion Success Track, while maintaining strong gross margins and improving operating losses. (link)

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AI therapy meets its first state ban

With more Americans turning to AI chatbots for mental health support, often because they’re easier to access than a therapist, lawmakers are stepping in. Illinois just became the first state to ban AI from providing direct mental health services, hitting violators with fines up to $10K unless they clearly state they’re not licensed providers. The move follows growing concerns about unvetted bots causing harm, from “ChatGPT psychosis” reports to a Florida teen’s suicide linked to chatbot interactions. It’s a sharp contrast to the flood of investment into AI therapy startups. For example, Slingshot AI has raised $93M for their therapy bot Ash. Supporters say the Illinois law protects patients; critics warn it could slow innovation when 1/3 of Americans live in areas without enough mental health professionals. Other states, including Nevada, Utah, and New York, are exploring similar rules. As we enter a patchwork era for AI in therapy, it will be interesting to see how innovation and regulation evolve together here. (link)

Tools & Partnerships 🔧

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

TOOLS

• Epic to launch ambient AI scribe: Epic is set to debut its own note-taking AI for transcribing clinician visits, entering a market led by Abridge and Nuance. The move could shift competition as over 70% of practices now use some form of AI for patient documentation. (link)(tweet)

• ALS patient controls iPad with brain implant: Synchron reported that an ALS patient used its brain-computer interface with Apple’s BCI protocol to operate an iPad by thought alone, marking a milestone for assistive neurotechnology. (link)

• MIT team develops AI to map any protein in any cell: PUPS, built by MIT, Harvard, and Broad Institute researchers, predicts the precise location of virtually any protein in a cell, potentially speeding disease research, drug discovery, and cellular biology. (link)

• 'AI is already better than most doctors,' says Elon Musk: Responding to a cancer survivor’s story about using ChatGPT to challenge her physicians, Musk said AI is “already better than most doctors” and will “become far better,” adding the same applies to all jobs. (link)

• Mount Sinai tests AI-guided surgical training: Researchers built an AI model, ESIST, that used XR headsets to guide trainees through a kidney cancer procedure with 99.9% accuracy and no human instructor, offering a scalable, cost-effective training alternative. (link)

• Kyruus expands Reach into AI-powered search: The provider search platform now integrates with ChatGPT, Bing, and Google AI Overviews, covering 90%+ of U.S. search traffic. Intermountain saw a 42% booking lift from Google Reserve integration. (link)

• Talkspace invests in behavioral health AI: The online therapy provider is building large language models for behavioral health to improve patient experience and reduce provider paperwork, expanding its AI-driven care capabilities. (link)

• Linea uses AI to cut heart failure readmissions: Backed by Redesign Health and DaVita, Linea combines generative AI and high-touch virtual care to detect hospital admissions, optimize medication, and engage patients in real time, targeting 40%+ readmission rates. (link)

• Elation Health launches native AI suite at no cost: The EHR vendor rolled out built-in tools for scribing, task automation, patient outreach, and clinical decision support, aiming to challenge third-party AI vendors. (link)

• Ascension launches Clinical Innovation Institute: The new unit will centralize and oversee existing innovation programs, aiming to accelerate tech evaluation and deployment across its network by providing more structure and organizational support. (link)

• Kaiser Permanente pilots AI navigator in SoCal patient portal: The “Intelligent Navigator” lets 4.9M members book care via free-text chat, directing urgent cases to clinicians and others to self-care. Early results show 97.7% urgent issue detection and higher booking, satisfaction, and retention rates. (link)

• ChronicleBio launches neuroimmune data platform: ChronicleBio, co-founded by Instacart CEO, aims to build the largest multi-modal dataset on conditions like POTS, ME/CFS, and Long COVID. The platform will unite providers, pharma, and patients to create biomarkers and accelerate diagnostics and treatments. (link)

• Microsoft’s self-adapting AI framework tackles scientific problems: The new “Cognitive Loop via In-situ Optimization” lets LLMs develop reasoning patterns in real time, boosting GPT-4.1’s biomedical accuracy from 8.55% to 22.37% and surpassing o3. (link)

• Google releases Gemini 2.5 Deep Think, a multi‑agent model: The system spawns multiple agents to tackle hard problems and pick a solution, posting strong math/coding scores. Rolling out on the $250/mo Ultra plan. (link)

PARTNERSHIPS

• Providence + Microsoft: A Providence study found Microsoft’s DAX Copilot cut after-hours documentation by 2.5 hours per week for family medicine providers, reducing frustration and burnout during a six-month pilot. (link)

• Mayo Clinic + NVIDIA: Mayo Clinic is deploying NVIDIA’s Blackwell infrastructure to speed development of multimodal generative AI models for medical imaging and pathology. (link)

Deal Desk 💸 

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

FUNDING

• EliseAI, a New York developer of chatbots for housing and healthcare, raised around $200M led by a16z at a valuation north of $2B. (link)

• Chai Discovery, an SF-based AI-powered molecule engineering company, raised $70M in Series A funding. Menlo Ventures led the round and was joined by Yosemite, DST Global Partners, SV Angel, Avenir, DCVC, and others. (link)

• August Health, an SF-based provider of senior living tech, raised $29M in Series B funding. Base10 Partners led, joined by General Catalyst and others. (link)

• Elion, a NYC-based AI-powered research and intelligence platform for healthtech, raised $9.3M in seed funding. NEA led the round and was joined by Cedars Sinai Health Ventures, TMV, Scrub Capital, and Alumni Ventures. (link)

• Translucent AI, a NYC-based developer of AI-powered financial analyst software for health care operators, raised $7M in seed funding. NEA led the round and was joined by Virtue, FPV, and Redesign Health. (link)

• Resolvd AI, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based developer of technology designed to automate reconciliation workflows in the health care supply chain and IT operations, raised $1.6M in pre-seed funding. (link)

• Magentiq Eye, a GI-imaging startup closed a Series A led by aMoon to commercialize its AI polyp-detection software in the US and EU. (link)

MERGERS & ACQUISTIONS

• Doximity + Pathway: Doximity acquires AI startup Pathway for $63M. Pathway’s clinical reference AI will power Doximity GPT, boosting bedside Q&A & evidence scoring for 1M+ physicians. AI is on track to overtake the newsfeed as a top revenue driver. (link)

IPO

• HeartFlow: HeartFlow's AI-driven, non-invasive CAD diagnostic platform addresses a large, growing market with significant clinical need and strong early adoption. The IPO valued HeartFlow at $1.5B, equal to 7x sales, amidst rapid growth but substantial losses. (link)

• BrainCo: China’s Neuralink rival seeks pre-IPO funding at $1.3B valuation. A Chinese brain-computer interface firm is raising funds ahead of a planned listing, signaling growing competition in neurotech. (link)

Other Relevant News 🔍

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

• NEJM AI governance framework for autonomous clinical AI agents (link)

• AI jumps ahead of EHR in health system tech priorities (link)

• Google’s Med-Gemini AI mislabels brain structure in paper (link)

• Will AI replace healthcare jobs? (link)

• The generalist-specialist paradox in medical AI (link)

AI Job Opportunities 💼 

Contact us to feature roles in our newsletter…

• Forward-Deployed AI Engineer at Charta Health, an AI chart review company

  $90 - $140K | SF (link)

• Clinical Specialist - Behavioral Health at Microsoft AI, a large tech company

  $NA | London (link)

• AI Research, Health, Clinical Specialist at Google, a large tech company
  $146 - 214K | Mountain View, CA (link)

Visuals of the Week 📸

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