podcast

OpenAI and Anthropic are making their play for healthcare, and we're not surprised

16.01.2026
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AI companies are clustering around healthcare and fast. 

In just the past week, OpenAI bought health startup Torch, Anthropic launched Claude for Health, and Sam Altman-backed MergeLabs closed a $250 million seed round at an $850 million valuation. The money and products are pouring into health and voice AI, but so are concerns about hallucination risks, inaccurate medical information, and massive security vulnerabilities in systems handling sensitive patient data. 

Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O'Kane dig into why the AI world is suddenly obsessed with health care, what other products can expect an AI-makeover, and more. 

Listen to the full episode to hear:  

Chapters: 

- Introduction  

- Waymo testing in New York City? 

- Bandcamp bans AI-generated music  

- Luminar's bankruptcy and LIDAR fire sale  

- Type One Energy's fusion funding frenzy  

- AI's healthcare land grab  

- Voice AI deals heat up  

- Anthropic's co-work tool threatens enterprise software 

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