Grand Challenges in Healthcare AI with Vijay Pande and Julie Yoo

Cancer care in the U.S. costs over $250 billion each year, and nearly 2 million Americans receive a new diagnosis annually, yet too often the journey begins with silence: no call, no plan, no guide.In this episode, a16z’s Vineeta Agarwala and Jay Rughani talk with Thyme Care leaders Robin Shah (cofounder and CEO), Bobby Green, MD (president and CMO), and Brad Diephuis, MD (president and COO) about rebuilding oncology around the patient. They cover where the system breaks, how navigation plus value-based contracts align incentives, how AI can extend clinicians, and what scale looks like today, more than 83,000 active patients. A concise blueprint for truly patient-centered cancer care. Timecodes: 0:00  Introduction 1:47 Personal Stories & Early Days of Time Care5:27 Building the Team & Mission7:07 The Patient Journey: Where the System Fails9:58 Why Tech Hasn’t Solved Cancer Care (Yet)15:45 Scaling Impact: Growth & Partnerships17:45 How Time Care Works: Value-Based Care Explained23:15 Technology, AI, and the Human Touch37:06 Building for the Future: Generational Impact Resources: Find Robin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-shah-8072bb35Find Bobby on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drbobbygreen/FInd Brad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bdiephuis/Find Vineeta on X: https://x.com/vintweetaFind Jay on X: https://x.com/JayRughani Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends!Find a16z on X: https://x.com/a16zFind a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zListen to the Raising Health on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4fjb8YTzHDuPBgDXc3ElkRListen to Raising Health on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raising-health/id1529318900Please 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, Julie Yoo and Jay Rughani are joined by Thatch cofounders Chris Ellis and Adam Stevenson to explore why ICHRA—a more recent policy innovation—might quietly revolutionize employer-sponsored health benefits. Unpacking the surprising history of how U.S. healthcare became entangled with employment, they make the case for a defined-contribution future that mirrors the rise of the 401(k) and HSA. Tailored especially for today’s distributed and fast-moving workforce, ICHRA allows employers to offer tax-free health dollars employees can spend how—and where—they choose. For healthcare entrepreneurs, the conversation provides a blueprint for navigating a rapidly shifting payer landscape, including insight into how fintech infrastructure, policy tailwinds, and carrier ecosystem integrations unlock market readiness. This episode was originally published in October of 2024. The conversation remains relevant today.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode,  Sprinter Health co-founders Max Cohen and Cameron Behar sit down with Julie Yoo to unpack how their home-based care model reaches underserved populations and reintegrates “the unengaged” into the healthcare system. From starting with blood draws in living rooms to scaling a high-complexity, tech-enabled logistics platform, they share how operations, empathy, and human connection power their success. The duo reflects on the constraints and regulatory nuance of healthcare, revealing how humility, intentional culture-building, and pragmatism give tech-native founders an edge. Listeners will walk away with tactical advice on balancing scrappiness with long-term scalability, architecting tech-clinical collaboration, and applying AI to augment—not replace—human-delivered care. For healthcare entrepreneurs navigating systems transformation without deep domain roots, this candid conversation is both roadmap and reality check.Learn more about a16z Bio+HealthLearn more about & Subscribe to Raising HealthFind a16z Bio+Health on LinkedInFind a16z Bio+Health on X Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, Tennr cofounder and CEO Trey Holterman sits down with a16z’s David Haber and Jay Rughani to unpack one of healthcare’s most overlooked pain points: patient referral logistics. When a patient is referred to a specialist and told that the specialist will follow up with them, what happens next? A convoluted system sometimes involving dozens of staff and multiple portals, all of which may or may not result in the specialist actually following up. Trey shares how Tennr leverages AI to automate the complex, unstructured workflows that delay patient care and burden frontline staff. Tennr's goal is to meaningfully increase patient conversions—ensuring more people get the treatment they need, faster. Learn more about a16z Bio+HealthLearn more about & Subscribe to Raising HealthFind a16z Bio+Health on LinkedInFind a16z Bio+Health on X Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What if one of healthcare’s most complex administrative challenges—revenue cycle management—was reframed as a data science problem? In this episode, Malinka Walaliyadde, cofounder and CEO of AKASA, joins Julie Yoo to unpack how large language models have the potential to transform hospital revenue by automating highly nuanced coding and billing workflows. Malinka discusses how AI is finally making it possible to extract simplicity from a sea of clinical complexity and unstructured data, simplifying the flow of dollars through the healthcare system and freeing staff to focus on patients.Plus:Learn more about a16z Bio+HealthLearn more about & Subscribe to Raising HealthFind a16z Bio+Health on LinkedInFind a16z Bio+Health on X Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What if we stopped trying to cure disease and started preventing it instead? In this episode, Eric Topol, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute and a cardiologist, scientist, and author, joins a16z general partner Vijay Pande to unpack the future of aging, prevention, and precision health—as explored in Eric's new book, Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity.Together, they discuss AI-driven risk prediction and next-gen immunotherapies — a roadmap for how we could eliminate age-related diseases before they begin. From the transformative potential of GLP-1 drugs to organ-specific aging clocks, this episode is about the innovations with the potential to expand healthspan, not just lifespan.Learn more about a16z Bio+HealthLearn more about & Subscribe to Raising HealthFind a16z Bio+Health on LinkedInFind a16z Bio+Health on X Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Arif Nathoo, cofounder and CEO of Komodo Health, joins Jorge Conde and Jay Rughani to explore the transformative potential of healthcare data in reshaping biotech and healthcare innovation. Arif reflects on a decade-long journey of unlocking the power of fragmented healthcare data, delving into Komodo Health’s “full-stack thesis” — a strategy that combines rich datasets, advanced analytics, and AI to enable life sciences companies, payors, and providers to make better decisions at scale.Together, the three also discuss leveraging predictive AI to identify undiagnosed patients and optimize care delivery. Arif also shares actionable advice for founders, from picking the right partner to staying steadfast in the vision. Plus:Learn more about a16z Bio+HealthLearn more about & Subscribe to Raising HealthFind a16z Bio+Health on LinkedInFind a16z Bio+Health on X Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Join a16z general partners Marc Andreessen, Julie Yoo, and Vijay Pande for an incisive exploration of what's driving—and stalling—transformation in healthcare. With the industry now consuming nearly 20% of U.S. GDP yet delivering poor outcomes relative to other developed countries, is technology the remedy or a red herring?This episode, cross-posted with the a16z podcast, dissects the inertia holding healthcare back, from regulatory bottlenecks to misaligned incentives, while offering actionable insights for entrepreneurs navigating this complex space. Plus:Learn more about a16z Bio+HealthLearn more about & Subscribe to Raising HealthFind a16z Bio+Health on LinkedInFind a16z Bio+Health on X Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Seth Hain, SVP of R&D at Epic, joins a16z Bio + Health general partner Julie Yoo to explore technology in healthcare. Reflecting on over two decades of industry shifts, Seth shares how Epic has transitioned from enabling integrated systems within health systems to driving cross-ecosystem collaboration and rapid innovations like generative AI.They also discuss orchestration of patient care across diverse settings, the transformative impact of AI on clinical workflows, and whether "electronic health record" is really the best term for clinical record-keeping software. Learn more about a16z Bio+HealthLearn more about & Subscribe to Raising HealthFind a16z Bio+Health on LinkedInFind a16z Bio+Health on X Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Elliot Cohen, cofounder of PillPack, joins Julie Yoo, a16z Bio + Health general partner. Together, they discuss Elliot's experience designing and building a consumer-first pharmacy alongside TJ Parker.Elliot's journey with PillPack began when he noticed his father struggling with a mail-order pharmacy that couldn’t get the simplest thing right: the correct version of a pill.Elliot shares the nitty-gritty of building a consumer-centric business in healthcare, including how they had to adapt CSV files and cake boxes to get their initial product off the ground, and how they balanced the needs of a healthcare system with the desires of their customers. Learn more about a16z Bio+HealthLearn more about & Subscribe to Raising HealthFind a16z Bio+Health on LinkedInFind a16z Bio+Health on X Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.