🍩 Our AI Agent Overlords - $28M, Dragons & AI Licensed Prescribers?
Whats happening in health tech & innovation?
Hello friends,
Today, we’re acknowledging the official global takeover of AI Agents. In fact, this newsletter was written by one.
Jokes. They would do a much better job with far fewer spelling errors.
Anyway - yesterday, Aussie darling Heidi Health announced their $26.8M Series A follow on ft. global backers.
Microsoft launched their Dragon Copilot the “first AI assistant for clinical workflow, bringing together natural language voice dictation with the ambient listening capabilities, with fine-tuned generative AI and healthcare-adapted safeguards”.
Whilst proposed U.S. legislation could allow AI to autonomously prescribe FDA-approved drugs.
And the AMA published a survey showing that physicians are increasingly embracing AI in healthcare, with 66% now using AI in practice, up from 38% in 2023.
For an oldschool, slow moving industry - bravo. Thats big.
The reality is - health, AI, and healthtech are all one and the same and just… healthcare.
Still, there’s a lot of ground to be made and won in the AI & automation world.
Now, into the rest of the news…
🍩 TODAY’S ISSUE
Newsworthy
Sick Science
AI Updates
Startup Stuff
Events
Cool Content
Noteworthy 🗞️
Funding
📝 Heidi Health announced a $26.8M Series A to“double the world’s healthcare capacity by freeing up clinicians to focus on patient care”
In other words, expand its capabilities into Agentic AI as well as pre-chart summaries, treatment guidelines access, & patient engagement outside the clinic
♿ Minikai, building AI agents for the disability & aged care sectors, snagged a $2.5M Seed round
🍼 GonGlobal, an IVF startup, raised $1.6M
🖥️ Splose, a practice management startup for physios & chiros, bagged $5M to take on the UK market
💨 ENA Respiratory secured $5M from Flu Lab to advance clinical development of INNA-051, a nasal immune enhancer to prevent severe viral respiratory infections
👁️ Snow Vision Accelerator, a collab between USyd & the Snow Family was announced with $50M to support glaucoma research over 10 years
🧬 Alterity Therapeutics, a listed biotech focused on developing disease-modifying treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, announced commitments for a $40M placement
Newsworthy
📝 Telstra Health launched Smart Scribe with Heidi Health, an AI-powered voice-recognition tool to relieve the clinical administrative load on GPs
💰 NIB Holdings will take full control of online healthcare startup Midnight Health in a staged buyout
🩹 Vaxxas, a biotech developing needle-free vaccines, completed enrollment for its largest clinical trial testing its high-density microarray patch to deliver an avian influenza A H7N9 vaccine
🚀 LaunchVic announced the 30X30 cohort. Including health companies:
Ausmed: a workforce capability platform for healthcare professionals
IRMA: surgical education & demonstration solutions to help surgeons & industry adapt to new surgical environments
🚨 Navi received FDA 510(k) clearance for its Neonav® ECG Tip Location System, a non-invasive device that provides real-time ECG guidance & catheter tip surveillance during central venous access procedures
Gov Goss
🏥 The Labor Party, if re-elected, pledges to invest $8.5B in Medicare reforms, expanding the tripled bulk billing rebate to all Aussies from Nov & offering a 12.5% incentive for GP clinics that commit to universal bulk billing
… Which was then immediately matched by Liberal 😲
💊 Some Aus women will pay much less for the contraceptive pill as Yasmin & Yaz become the first oral contraceptives in 30yrs to be subsidized under the PBS
🧠Aus is investing $135.2M in digital mental health programs, providing free support for new parents, younger Aussies, LGBTIQA+ people, & CALD communities
🏥 And $22M from the MRFF to improve primary care, funding seven uni-led projects focused on aged care, rural health, digital health & new care model
US & Beyond the Borders 🌎
💊 Proposed U.S. legislation could allow AI to autonomously prescribe FDA-approved drugs, recognising AI as a “licensed practitioner” if approved
🧬 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki is reportedly trying to take the DNA testing app she sold for $6bn private for $75m
⚖️ Hims & Hers, a US telehealth platform, acquired at-home lab testing facility Sigmund NJ LLC (Trybe Labs) to expand into at-home blood draws & whole-body testing
But it’ss facing serious scrutiny over its Super Bowl ad. Bringing into question - were’s the lines and accountability?
"A Super Bowl ad….appears to showcase a company's ability to prescribe & dispense GLP-1 medications to patients…… however, nowhere in this promotion is there any side effect disclosure, risk or safety information as would be typically required in a pharmaceutical ad….further, for only 3 secs during the min-long commercial does the screen flash in small, barely legible font that these products are not FDA-approved." ~ US Senators
🔍 OpenEvidence, a medical search engine used by over 1/4 U.S. doctors, hit a $1B valuation after a $75M Series A led by Sequoia
“Trust matters in medicine, and the fact that it’s trained on The New England Journal of Medicine, the fact that it’s built from the ground up for doctors -- the result is a black-and-white difference in terms of accuracy”
~Founder, Daniel Nadler
🩺 Prenuvo, the preventative scan company, introduced 3 new FDA-approved health assessments—a blood test, a neurological scan, & a body composition analysis—to complement its flagship full-body MRI scan
👨⚕️ RFK Jr. was officially confirmed as the US Health & Human Services secretary
👁️ London Doctors successfully treated children born blind due to a rare genetic condition, Leber congenital amaurosis, using a pioneering gene therapy injecting healthy copies of the AIPL1 gene into the retina
🎗️ Google & the Institute of Women's Cancers have partnered to apply AI in breast & gynecological cancer research
📱 Apple launched the Apple Health Study with Brigham & Women’s Hospital to explore how tech—including iPhone, Apple Watch, & AirPods—can track & improve physical & mental health
🏥 Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust deployed Annalise.ai’s AI software
💊 Cosette Pharmaceuticals acquired Mayne Pharma for $672M, expanding its women's health portfolio with birth control, menopause treatments, & dermatology products
👶 Future Family launched Orange Shield, a money-back guarantee for IVF treatments in the US, covering up to $50k in expenses if treatment fails after 2 cycles
🩺 Level Zero Health raised $6.9M pre-seed funding to develop a wearable device for continuous hormone monitoring
Sick Science
🧬 A Cure Before Birth? First In-Womb Treatment for Deadly Disorder
Researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital successfully treated spinal muscular atrophy type 1 in a fetus for the first time. At 32 weeks pregnant, the mother took Risdiplam, a gene-modifying drug, to boost the baby's SMN protein levels. Now almost 3 years old, the child shows no signs of the disease.
🩸 Preeclampsia prediction from blood?
Researchers at UW Medicine & Fred Hutch Cancer Center developed a blood test using cell-free DNA from the placenta to predict preterm preeclampsia with 80% accuracy. The condition, which causes >70k maternal & 500k fetal deaths annually, has been notoriously hard to detect early.
🤖 Other AI Updates
🌎 Google:
Introduced its AI co-scientist built on Gemini 2.0 to assist researchers in generating hypotheses & designing experiments to accelerate biomedical discoveries
Received FDA clearance for Pixel Watch 3's AI pulse detection, to verify loss of pulse and even alert emergency services
👩⚕️ Lumeris introduced Tom, an AI solution to expand primary care capacity by autonomously managing key tasks like scheduling, medication adherence, & patient outreach, partnering with Oura, Oliver Wyman, Endeavor Health, MIT Computer Science & AI Lab & more
🌍 BMJ published its Global AI guidelines for healthcare: the FUTURE-AI framework with 6 core principles & 30 recommendations developed by 117 experts
👂NVIDIA & the American Society for Deaf Children launched Signs, an AI platform that gives real-time feedback to American sign language learners
🗣️ Andreessen Horowitz released a 2025 update on AI voice agents.
TLDR; AI voice agents automate patient-facing & administrative calls in healthcare with tasks including appointment scheduling, benefit verification, & revenue cycle management
💻 An AMA survey shows that physicians are increasingly embracing AI in healthcare. Key findings were:
35% are more enthusiastic than concerned in 2024, up from 30% in 2023.
66% now use AI in practice, up from 38%.
57% see automation as crucial for reducing administrative burdens.
Top AI adoption priorities include data privacy, feedback mechanisms, & EHR integration
🎤 Microsoft launched Dragon Copilot, an AI voice assistant for healthcare, streamlining clinical documentation, surfacing medical insights, & automating administrative tasks
📝 Abridge, a medical notetaking startup, raised $250M in Series D funding, bringing its valuation to $2.75B, as its tech expands to over 100 health systems, including Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, & Duke Health
🧠 Teens are turning to AI chatbots for emotional support, leading to lawsuits against Character.AI after parents claim the platform’s chatbots encouraged harmful behaviors
🫣 Ezra announced FDA clearance for its Ezra Flash AI model, enabling faster, more affordable imaging for early cancer detection, with plans to launch a 15-min, $500 full-body MRI scan in 2026
Startup Stuff 🚀
Looking to Boost International Science Collaboration?
ATSE, in partnership with the Aus Academy of Science, is offering grants of up to $1M each through the Global Science & Tech Diplomacy Fund to foster science & tech collabs with regional neighbours - More here
Know a Future Female Leader in STEM?
The WILD Program 2025 is calling for exceptional women & non-binary professionals in STEM to step into leadership & board roles. This nationally recognised program offers governance training, leadership development, & hands-on board experience - More here
Need Funding for Industry-Led Research?
CRC-P Round 17 is open! Secure matched funding for short-term, industry-led research collabs to develop a new technology, product or service, aligned with National Science & Research Priorities & the National Reconstruction Fund - More here
Want to Advance Neurogenomics Research?
The ANS Illumina Neurogenomics Research Award offers AU$100k+ in sequencing & array processing to support ANS researchers in generating data for future funding applications. The winner will gain access to the Illumina Innovation Collective lab in Melb - More here
Ready to take your health venture from Seed to Series A?
The MedTech Actuator Accelerator is a 9-month program that provides access to industry experts, investors, & a global network - More here
Ready to take your health startup global?
The MedTech Actuator Global Navigator Sydney is a hybrid program connecting you with industry leaders, investors, & key stakeholders in MedTech, BioTech, & HealthTech - More here
Got game-changing ideas to transform General Practice?
Join the RACGP Hackathon 2025: Byte the Bureaucracy, a 3-day event bringing GPs, clinical entrepreneurs, & developers together to tackle real-world challenges in GP. Held at Microsoft Reactor Syd from 28–30 March, this event offers the chance to brainstorm, prototype, & present solutions to digital health experts - More here
Ready to turn your biotech idea into a commercial success?
BioElevate by Jumar is a 2-day hands-on workshop designed to guide you through the commercialisation process step-by-step - More here
Events💥
12th – 13th Mar: ARC APAC Summit (Melb)
Wed 12th Mar: International Women's Day | Startmate x Google Cloud (Syd)
Fri 14th Mar: Women's Life Cycle Summit 2025 (Syd)
Sat 15th Mar: 2025 ITP Patient Conference (Syd)
19th - 20th Mar: Aus Healthcare Week (Syd)
20th Mar: Aus Healthcare Week Pitchfest (Syd)
20th Mar: Exploring the intersection between health, innovation, & law (Melb)
27th Mar: BESTMED 2025 Conference Beyond the Chart (Syd)
6-8th May: AusMedtech
13-14th May: Digital Health Festival
17th - 28th June: Towards One Healthcare System Summit (Canberra)
Consumable Content 💎
🎙️ The Medical Innovation Podcast: Creating the most widely used clinical reference - Graham Walker MD, Founder of MDCalc and Offcall
Dr. Walker shares his inspo for starting both companies & discusses the future of healthcare & how technology like AI may play a role in clinical care
📖 Oxford’s 2024 Word of the Year is “brain rot,” a term that’s no longer just internet slang but a real concern backed by research
📺 Max’s The Pitt, is winning over real ER doctors & nurses with its surprisingly accurate portrayal of hospital life
Medical professionals praise the show for its attention to detail, from correct treatments to the emotional toll of the job. With guidance from real doctors, The Pitt offers a rare glimpse of authentic ER chaos—no fluff, just real-life drama
Watch the trailer here
What do WTHers have to say? 🍩
How do you see AI shaping physician workflows? Any surprises in the latest AMA survey data below?"In the next 10–20 years, as AI automates the diagnostic workflow in primary care, the prevailing belief is that general practitioners will be reduced to “prescription machines” or not be needed at all.
I disagree.
Instead of becoming obsolete, GPs will expand their scope and perform more procedures which would have evolved with technology to become more accessible/safe for them (e.g LASIK, TULA tympanostomies, or even carpal tunnel release)
Meanwhile, specialists will shift their focus to only manage complex, high-risk, rare and “interesting” cases. Much like how ear wax removal, IUD insertions, and skin biopsies once belonged to specialists but are now routine in primary care."
~Eldin Rostom,
Co-founder & CEO Diag-Nose.io
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👋 Emily,
Mariah & team WTH
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Brilliant newsl, as always
terrifying