As I concluded my previous blog, Hurricane Milton was quickly approaching Florida. On the Southeast coast, where my family resides, we weren’t expected to be in its direct path. As lifelong Floridians, we felt prepared rather than fearful. However, we were unprepared for the over 100 tornado warnings and one tornado that passed over our home, causing significant damage in the neighborhood. While my family and I are safe, this experience serves as a stark reminder of nature’s unpredictability and our reliance on technology to safeguard our lives and homes. This hurricane was forecasted to take a rare path from the West, showcasing the power of technology in disaster preparedness. The quality of the information and warnings we received undoubtedly saved countless lives, leading millions to evacuate and take precautions. Having lived through many hurricanes, it was impressive to compare our current access to information with what we had just a few decades ago.
This situation parallels the current landscape of the healthcare industry as AI emerges as a potential game-changer. Despite significant advancements in AI technology, healthcare adoption remains uneven, caught between skepticism, practical hurdles, and genuine opportunity.
AI Investments: A Growing Opportunity
In my last post, I hinted at recent research from an international investment bank highlighting AI’s burgeoning investment potential. UBS, which manages over $4 trillion in assets, recently released a report positioning AI as the tech theme of the decade. They urged investors to engage, particularly in private markets, including venture capital, private equity, and real estate. UBS emphasized three key points:
- AI is the tech theme of the decade.
- Investment opportunities exist across all three AI layers—enabling, intelligence, and application.
- Private companies focusing on large language models, AI applications, and data centers offer compelling opportunities.
The comparison between AI’s current inflection point and past technological milestones is striking. UBS likens the launch of ChatGPT in 2022 to the launch of the Netscape browser in 1994 and the unveiling of the iPhone in 2007—events that transformed industries and society. They believe AI is on a similar trajectory.
Despite this, many investors still view AI with skepticism, believing it might be a passing trend or that the only viable investment avenue is through companies like Nvidia. UBS counters these concerns, asserting that AI is still in its early stages, with demand and spending trends broadening, indicating significant opportunities ahead.
Healthcare AI: A Unique Challenge
In healthcare, the potential for AI is immense but complicated by unique challenges. Unlike other industries where adoption can be rapid, healthcare faces higher barriers due to stringent regulations, the complexity of medical data, and the high stakes involved in patient care.
While many view AI in healthcare primarily as a diagnostic tool, the reality is more nuanced. Although AI has made strides in radiology, genetics, and pathology, it struggles in other areas, often achieving only 80% accuracy. Doctors are unlikely to embrace a technology they don’t fully understand or trust—especially one that doesn’t consistently outperform human judgment.
UBS acknowledges these hurdles, noting that healthcare AI adoption lags behind other industries, as illustrated in the accompanying graph. The complexity of healthcare data and privacy concerns contribute to this slow uptake.
Despite these challenges, UBS remains optimistic about AI’s transformative potential in healthcare. They recommend a diversified approach, involving both public and private market investments, to maintain exposure to the AI revolution. In particular, they see exciting opportunities in the “application layer” of AI, focusing on tools that directly serve consumers.
Venture Capital’s AI Focus
The role of venture capital in advancing AI cannot be understated. According to Crunchbase News, North American startup funding saw a slowdown in Q3 2024, but interest in AI deals remained strong. Nearly $15 billion was invested in AI startups during that quarter, reflecting growing confidence in the sector.
This investment trend is particularly noteworthy given that venture capital peaked during the COVID-19 era (Q2 2020 – Q1 2022) yet continues to prioritize AI as a critical focus area. AI is capturing an increasing share of venture capital attention, with more startups emerging to tackle AI’s application across various sectors, including healthcare.
The Real Healthcare AI Opportunity: Consumers
Healthcare’s resistance to technology isn’t universal. History shows that when a tool benefits doctors—by enhancing their quality of life or streamlining reimbursement processes—adoption happens quickly. Technologies like pagers, cell phones, fax machines, and personal computers were embraced by doctors long before they became commonplace among the general public.
This is why I believe the future of AI in healthcare lies with consumers. Imagine AI that can analyze a patient’s entire medical history to offer quality-of-life suggestions, flagging potential health issues long before they become critical. In emergencies or while traveling, secure access to one’s aggregated medical records could be life-saving. AI can also help patients better understand their health by analyzing longitudinal data, providing personalized insights that traditional medical systems often lack, and empowering them to engage meaningfully with their caregivers.
In 1999, I tried to persuade a doctor friend to build a website linking to the American Heart Association and other medical organizations. His response was telling: “That will make patients worry about problems they don’t have and second-guess my medical opinion.” Today, “Dr. Google” is an essential resource for millions, demonstrating how the internet has democratized access to health information.
Similarly, AI’s true promise in healthcare may be as a tool for consumers rather than just for doctors. By giving consumers—and their families—control over their own data, AI can empower them to make informed decisions about their health, improving outcomes and potentially reducing costs.
AI’s Investment Potential in Healthcare and Beyond
We are only beginning to scratch the surface of AI’s potential, particularly in healthcare. While challenges remain in adoption and data integration, the opportunities are too significant to ignore. With venture capital continuing to flow into AI startups and major institutions like UBS advocating for AI investments, the sector is poised for dramatic growth.
Investors willing to take a long-term view will discover that AI has just begun to reshape industries. Whether aiding consumers in managing their health more proactively or enabling doctors to make more accurate diagnoses, the future of AI is bright—and its impact on healthcare may be the most transformative of all.
For those of us in Florida, as we rebuild from yet another storm, we know that preparation is key. Just as technology has made us better prepared for hurricanes, AI will equip us to navigate the complexities of healthcare.
-Noel J. Guillama, Chairman
About HealthScoreAI™
Healthcare is at a tipping point, and HealthScoreAI is positioning to revolutionize the industry by giving consumers control over their health data and unlocking its immense value. U.S. healthcare annual spending has reached $4.7 trillion with little improvement in outcomes. Despite advances, technology has failed to reduce costs or improve care. Meanwhile, 3,000 exabytes of consumer health data remain trapped in fragmented USA systems, leaving consumers and doctors without a complete picture of care.
HealthScoreAI seeks to provide a unique solution, acting as a data surrogate for consumers and offering an unbiased holistic view of their health. By monetizing de-identified data, HealthScoreAI seeks to share revenue with consumers, potentially creating a new $100 billion market opportunity. With near-universal EHR adoption in the USA, and advances in technology, now is the perfect time to capitalize on the data available, practical use of AI and the empowering of consumers, in particular the 13,000 baby boomers turning 65 every single day and entering the Medicare system for the first time. Our team, with deep healthcare and tech expertise, holds U.S. patents and a proven track record of scaling companies and leading them to IPO.