Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash
Healthcare AI Innovator Hippocratic AI Raises $141M In Series B, Reaching Unicorn Status
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor
The California-based startup Hippocratic AI recently raised $141 million in a Series B round led by Kleiner Perkins, reaching a valuation of $1.64 billion, earning unicorn status .
In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!
- Hippocratic AI raised $141 million in a Series B round and is now valued at $1.64 billion, reaching unicorn status.
- The startup expects to expand to more regions such as EMEA, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, and more sectors like health insurance and pharmaceuticals.
- The company, founded in 2023, has developed LLM models, AI agents and innovative AI solutions.
The healthcare company, founded in 2023, develops Large Language Models (LLMs) tailored for patients and designed to provide AI solutions in the industry—including AI agents and specialized generative artificial intelligence models for patients and healthcare professionals, and healthcare companies.
With the new investment, the company plans to expand to new markets such as Latin America, Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Hippocratic AI also aims to diversify and enter sectors like health insurance and pharmaceuticals.
“This round of financing will accelerate the development and deployment of the Hippocratic GenAI-driven super staffing and continue our quest to make healthcare abundance a reality,” said Munjal Shah, co-founder and CEO of Hippocratic AI in a press release .
The CEO also highlighted the company’s evolution and journey over the past nine months, during which they raised funds, released a new architecture, expanded advisory councils, and obtained their first U.S. patent. Hippocratic AI signed contracts with 23 new clients in the healthcare sector, launched 16 of those clients, received positive feedback and claims to have achieved safety parity between their AI agents and human clinicians.
According to TechCrunch , Healthcare AI also raised $53 million in a series A round in March and secured $17 million from Nvidia a few months later. With this new round, the health tech startup has achieved impressive growth in less than two years since its creation.
“While we had been tracking Hippocratic AI because of its focus on safety and unique constellation LLM architecture, the company’s incredible commercial traction is a clear signal that they are winning a new category,” said Mamoon Hamid, Partner, Kleiner Perkins. “The total addressable market of using generative AI for solving healthcare staffing shortages is probably 10 times the size of the healthcare software market alone, and we’re excited to support the Hippocratic AI team on their journey.”
Other startups in the healthcare industry have also developed innovative technologies with generative artificial intelligence models. The health fintech company PayZen secured $232 million last August to continue its growth including new AI-powered solutions, and the French startup Alan launched an AI assistant called Mo in November.
Image by Freepik
AI And The Future Of Death
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor
Artificial intelligence is changing the way people think about death and how we remember those who have passed, as reported in a new research analysis by The Conversation .
In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!
- AI technology creates digital versions of the deceased, allowing posthumous interactions.
- Digital afterlife raises legal concerns about ownership and responsibility over online accounts.
- Digital grieving could complicate emotional closure by keeping memories too accessible.
The Conversation notes how AI is playing a role in how we manage our digital legacy. Companies like Apple , Google , and Meta have tools that give a trusted person access to your online accounts after death.
Microsoft has even patented a system that uses digital data – from emails to social media posts – to create a chatbot that mimics the deceased’s communication style, as previously reported by The Washington Post . This technology gives people a way to interact with a virtual version of their deceased loved ones.
The Conversation reports that following this trend, media companies in South Korea created a documentary called “Meeting You,” which reunited a mother with her deceased daughter through virtual reality.
Using advanced digital imaging and voice technology, the mother could see and talk to a VR avatar of her daughter, as previously reported by The Korea Times .
However, The Conversation notes that the rise of digital immortality raises important questions about the ownership and responsibility of one’s virtual persona. For instance, it asks who has control over your digital presence after death.
In the U.S., many states have passed laws allowing people to include digital accounts in their wills. In Germany, courts ruled that a deceased person’s social media accounts should be treated like property, granting their family access, reports The Conversation.
But issues remain. For example, what if an AI version of you says or does something you would never have? Who is responsible when an AI misrepresents a person?
Additionally, The Conversation notes that creating AI versions of people can be expensive, often costing thousands of dollars. This creates a situation where only the wealthy can afford to live on digitally, raising concerns about new forms of inequality.
While some people find comfort in maintaining a connection to the deceased, psychologists warn that interacting with digital versions of loved ones could make it harder to move on and accept their loss, as reported by The Conversation.
As AI technology advances, this new form of grieving may complicate how people cope with death.
