Shiv Rao, MD (Founder & CEO of Abridge)

Insights from a leader in Generative AI for healthcare

What two insights led to the founding of Abridge?

·      Doctor-patient conversations are the key driver of the healthcare industry

·      Clinical revenue is driven by the care that is documented, not delivered

What two tailwinds led to Abridge’s breakout success in 2023?

·      Generative AI enabled Abridge to document and structure doctor-patient conversations with tremendous accuracy

·      Hospitals are increasingly losing doctors due to burnout – 40% want to leave their institution in the next 2-3 years

Advice for AI application founders:

·      If it scares you that next OpenAI model will be 10x better, you are going down the wrong path

·      If 10x improvements in the model layer excite you, you are poised to ride a great wave

If Shiv was not building Abridge, what would he do?   

·      Direct-to-consumer personal care chatbots – LLMs can already deliver expert medical advice, and the enormous benefit to consumers outweighs the occasional misdiagnosis. Large incumbents will be slow to pursue this path given perceived risks, creating an opportunity for startups.

Key Lessons:

·      Success is all about people

·      As a founder, you should have a mission that you are willing to sacrifice everything for as building a company is harder than you can ever imagine

·      An authentic connection to the problem will make you a 10x more successful founder – you will be a better recruiter, fundraiser, and builder