Vincent Grippi

Jun 14, 20246 min read

Healthcare AI: Big Investments, Bigger Hurdles

Updated: 6 days ago

The Grip is a newsletter that compiles essential news and insights for bold healthcare marketers, brought to you by Grippi Media.

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Venture capital funding for healthcare AI is soaring, with a projected $11 billion investment this year, up from 21% to 26% of total VC healthcare funding compared to 2023 per Silicon Valley Bank.

Despite the significant investment uptick, there are still many obstacles to overcome, especially when it comes to getting regulatory approvals and payer acceptance for diagnostic AI.

In issue 7 of The Grip we dive into the opportunities and hurdles facing VC investment in healthcare AI.

I Can’t Believe That’s a Keyword

Using Semrush, we hunt down bizarre (and totally real) search queries and try to answer them.

This Week’s Keyword: Did The Titanic Really Sink?

Avg. Monthly Search Volume: 1,000

Answer: That's an easy one. The real question is: was there enough room for Jack to fit on the floating door with Rose?

Top Stories We’re Tracking

Essential marketing and healthcare headlines of the week.

Healthcare AI Investment is on the Rise: 5 Things to Know

Venture capital funding for artificial intelligence solutions in healthcare is projected to exceed $11 billion this year, marking a significant increase from 21% to 26% of total healthcare venture capital compared to last year, according to a report from Silicon Valley Bank.

In the first quarter alone, $2.8 billion was invested, with at least 30 U.S. healthcare AI companies achieving valuations of $1 billion since 2019. The report highlights AI's growing dominance over other tech investments, particularly in clinical applications like diagnostics, imaging, and remote patient monitoring, which have attracted $12.5 billion since 2021.

Therapeutic AI leads the pack with $12.9 billion, while administrative AI, less burdened by regulatory challenges, accounted for 42% of dealmaking and 27% of healthcare AI investment in the first quarter.

Despite the substantial investment, challenges remain, particularly with regulatory approvals and payer acceptance for diagnostic AI, which is crucial yet difficult to develop. The report notes that the adoption of AI in healthcare is slowed by high development costs, industry consolidation, and limited training resources.

Will your next doctor's appointment be with Dr. GPT, MD? Given how long it takes to get an appointment these days, it very well could be!

📄 Read Article (Source: Modern Healthcare)

Everything You Need to Know About Apple Intelligence

Unless you've been living under a rock, you're probably aware that Apple finally tossed its hat into the ring of artificial intelligence during its latest WWDC event. Here's everything you need to know about "Apple Intelligence" aka "AI" ... see what they did there?

What is Apple Intelligence?

Apple Intelligence is Apple's proprietary suite of AI features integrated into iPhones, iPads, and Macs. It's designed to understand personal context, while prioritizing privacy.

Key Features of Apple Intelligence:

Writing Tools: AI can rewrite and proofread text across all apps. Potentially becoming an asset in using AI for marketing.
Priority Notifications and Messages: Context-aware AI prioritizes important notifications and emails.
Smart Reply: Generates email replies for user approval.
Reduce Interruptions: An intelligent Focus mode that filters notifications.
Content Summaries: Summarizes content from emails and transcripts.
Image Creation: Generates original images based on text prompts.
Genmoji: Creates custom emojis on demand.
Photo Clean-Up: Removes unwanted objects from photos.

Apple AI also include some upgrades to Siri, including:

Improved Understanding: Handles complex and clunky requests more efficiently.
Personalized Assistance: Performs actions with an awareness of personal context.
Onscreen Awareness: Knows what’s on the screen to assist with relevant tasks.
Cross-App Actions: Performs actions that span multiple apps.

And when Siri is struggling, she can turn to ChatGPT...

Partnership with OpenAI: Deep integration of ChatGPT into Siri and Writing Tools.
Enhanced Expertise: Siri can leverage ChatGPT for complex requests and content creation.
Privacy Assurance: No need for an OpenAI account, and information is not shared with OpenAI.

What Devices Support Apple Intelligence?

Supported Devices:iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.iPads with M1, M2, or M4 chips.Macs with M1, M2, or M3 chips.
Future Support: Expected support for iPhone 16 models.

All of these features are standard generative AI fare. In any case, they should prove to be helpful, especially for those who do work on the fly. Apple Intelligence significantly paves the way for generative AI to become a common tool that we have at our disposal, like the calculator.

📄 Read Article (Source: 9to5Mac)

Google is Ready to Fill Free Streaming TV Channels with Ads

Google is launching a new advertising network for its Google TV platform, enabling advertisers to place unskippable, targeted ads on more than 125 free ad-supported streaming TV channels available on Google TV-powered streaming boxes and smart TVs. This move aims to capitalize on the 20 million monthly active Google TV and Android TV OS devices, offering a significant audience for advertisers. Additionally, YouTube's extensive reach of over 150 million monthly active viewers in living rooms further amplifies the potential impact of this advertising network.

Marketers that leverage Google Ads and Google Display & Video 360 can now include the Google TV network in their campaigns, allowing for broader and more integrated ad strategies across Google's platforms and third-party apps.

Google reports that viewers of its free streaming channels watch an average of 75 minutes per day, with FAST (Free Ad-Supported TV) channels rapidly gaining popularity as an alternative to paid cable services.

📄 Read Article (Source: The Verge)

Google Analytics Update To Improve Paid Search Attribution

Google is updating its Google Analytics 4 (GA4) attribution models to correct a longstanding issue where conversions from paid search were incorrectly attributed to organic search traffic. This change, rolling out over the next two weeks, aims to ensure accurate conversion tracking by modifying how campaign information is captured. As a result, more conversions will be credited to paid search campaigns, potentially impacting advertisers' budgets.

Google advises advertisers to review and adjust their budget caps accordingly to align with the expected increase in paid search conversions and to make data-driven decisions for optimizing their marketing strategies.

📄 Read Article (Source: Search Engine Journal)

Our Latest Podcasts

Recent episodes of the podcasts that we help produce.

The Ethics of Social Media Medicine

Physicians are increasingly leveraging social media platforms like TikTok, X, and Facebook to share their insights and opinions.

Alongside this trend, there's a clear uptick in doctors endorsing new pharmaceuticals and medical tools through their social media handles.With this expanded reach comes heightened responsibility.

Healthcare Finance News revealed that 34% of consumers admitted that social media tools significantly influenced their medication decisions, with higher percentages among younger viewers.

But amidst this influence, questions arise: Are doctors being compensated for their endorsements? And can we trust their intentions?

In the latest episode of CareTalk Podcast: Healthcare. Unfiltered., hosts, David E. Williams and John Driscoll, explore the ethical implications of medical promotions on social media and its impact on patients, healthcare practitioners, and public trust.

📲 Listen to the full episode

How Optimizing Medicines Can Lower Costs

Explore how genetics can enhance the optimization of new drugs entering the market, leading to cost savings and improved safety.

In the latest HealthBiz Brief, Travis Morgan, President and CFO of DecisionRx, Inc., delves into the underlying reason for soaring costs and medication failures.

Join us as he explores how genetics can enhance the optimization of new drugs entering the market, leading to cost savings and improved safety.

📲 Listen to the full episode

Innovations in Biomarker & Diagnostic Development, Part Two of the Health Innovation Compilation Series

In part two of the show's five part compilation mini-series on health innovation, we explore groundbreaking advancements in diagnostics and biomarkers.

Featured Companies:

Us2.ai - James Hare (Co-founder/CEO), Dr. Carolyn Lam (Co-Founder & Non-Exec Head of Medical Affairs)

Truvian – Jay Srinivasan (CEO)

Sparta Science (acquired by ŌURA) – Phil Wagner, MD (Founder & CEO)

📲 Listen to the full episode

What We’re Listening To

New music that has been inspiring us.

Jordan Rakei - The Loop

I stumbled upon this album on Spotify, completely unaware of who Jordan Rakei is. But after one listen to "The Loop," I was instantly hooked. This record is like a sonic pendulum that swings back and forth between tempered blues and funky, neo- soul. Everything from the production to Rakei's powerful voice and songwriting is stellar.

🎧 Listen on Spotify