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Health Tech Founders: The Future of Care Is Personalized, Proactive—and AI-Powered
10 segments available
What happens when AI meets the most personal parts of our lives—our minds and our bodies? In this episode, a16z's Bryan Kim is joined by Jonathan Swerdlin (Function Health) and Daniel Cahn (Slingshot AI / Ash) to explore how founders are reimagining healthcare and mental health from the ground up using AI. They discuss: - Why the most impactful AI experiences start with real human context—not just digital behavior - Building trust in consumer health products outside of traditional systems - Creating AI that supports—not replaces—doctors and therapists - What “hourly active use” looks like when AI truly helps From biomarker-driven health insights to AI-powered therapy, this conversation dives into how founders are reshaping care for a more accessible, continuous, and deeply personal future. Timecodes: 0:00 Introduction & The Human Experience of AI 0:50 Personal Stories: Founders' Health Journeys 3:40 The State of Mental Health & AI's Role 5:08 Surprising Insights from Building in Health Tech 6:05 Rethinking User Experience in AI Health Products 08:52 Trust, Momentum, and Building for Impact 12:15 Engagement, Retention, and Product Usage Patterns 17:00 The Power and Limits of AI in Health & Therapy 21:10 Human Connection vs. AI: Augmentation, Not Replacement 27:00 Ethics, Autonomy, and the Human Element Resources: Find Jonathan on X: https://x.com/swerdlin Find Daniel on X: https://x.com/danielreidcahn Find Bryan on X: https://x.com/kirbyman01 Stay Updated: Let us know what you think: https://ratethispodcast.com/a16z Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/ Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details, please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Segments Timeline
Introduction & The Human Experience of AI
"Most AI experiences are being built around a personal context that's limited to digital activity. So, we have to literally bring your biology online. We don't we don't call it UX, we call it UX cuz it..."
Personal Stories: Founders' Health Journeys
"A lot of us think about hells when goes wrong. whether you know broken heart, broken bodies, broken bones. But I think it really what we're seeing more and more into the consumer side of things, they'..."
The State of Mental Health & AI's Role
"course, I think it goes um a little further even just um I think one of the numbers that really inspired me was um in the anxious generation, Jonathan Hates book, he quotes that um uh twothirds of col..."
Surprising Insights from Building in Health Tech
"as you think about sort of the working towards the mission. Is there something that you were even you were surprised as you work in this product space to say oh like this is new to me and this is like..."
Rethinking User Experience in AI Health Products
"thing. I'd say the other part has been figuring out the user experience has been fascinating because in some ways um our designer talks about like the challenge of when you're when you're innovating y..."
Trust, Momentum, and Building for Impact
"momentum as a mode. Right? We're in this net new era where AI is actually changing how we think about things and do things and interact with people. And so I'm curious how what that means to you, the ..."
Engagement, Retention, and Product Usage Patterns
"you guys. What does like good engagement, good retention mean for both of your products today? It's not fully set up as a daily engagement product, but that's, you know, nothing starts complete as you..."
The Power and Limits of AI in Health & Therapy
"this biomarker means blah and it's in range. I don't know what that means. And you know, and similar to, you know, mental mental health when you know, oh, is it CBT? Is it doing XYZ? like I don't I do..."
Human Connection vs. AI: Augmentation, Not Replacement
"uh asked the question can AI do therapy and the image in our mind was the therapy touring test or the Zoom touring test. if I'm on Zoom with you. Um, or like Jonathan, you're virtual right now. I have..."
Ethics, Autonomy, and the Human Element
"for them short term." I tell them the answer. I tell them get out of this relationship right now. And then they, I don't know, lose a little bit of pain in the short run, but they fundamentally are lo..."