The co-founder of health data startup, Torch, has shared that the company has been acquired by OpenAI for a sum of “$100m+”. Outlining the mission to provide healthcare “for a billion people, for free”, Aoun says integrating that work into the AI used by billions every day “makes that dream a reality”.
According to the Torch website, the startup is focused on connecting health data from a wide range of sources and offering answers to common health questions using AI.
In a message now posted on the site, the company’s team states: “We started Torch to build a medical memory for AI, unifying scattered records into a context engine that helps you see the full picture, connect the dots, and make sure nothing important gets lost in the noise again. Now, we’re joining OpenAI to realise that vision at a bigger scale than we could have ever achieved on our own.”
Earlier this month, OpenAI announced the launch of ChatGPT Health, the result of work with more than 260 physicians across 60 countries and multiple specialities, designed to help support 230 million people who seek health and wellness guidance every week.
ChatGPT Health aims to help people understand test results, prepare for appointments, and access advice on areas such as diet and workout routines, OpenAI suggests. Medical records and wellness apps can be securely connected to provide it with access to personal health information to improve responses, with emphasis on “supporting, not replacing, care from clinicians”.
Wider trend: Health AI
We were joined for a practical HTN Now webinar taking a deep dive into AI in health and care by expert panellists Peter Thomas, chief clinical information officer and director of digital development at Moorfields Eye Hospital; Sally Mole, senior digital programme manager – digital portfolio delivery team at The Dudley Group; and Ananya Datta, associate director of primary care digital delivery, South East London ICS. The session shared approaches, best practices, challenges, successes and learnings for the practical implementation of AI technologies across health and care, with our panel offering insight into current work, future plans, and ongoing collaborations in areas such as Ambient AI.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has issued a call for evidence on the regulation of AI in healthcare, asking members of the public, clinicians, industry, and healthcare providers to share their views on the modernisation of AI rules, keeping patients safe as AI evolves, and the distribution of responsibilities between regulators, companies, healthcare organisations, and individuals. In particular, views are sought on the UK’s current framework for regulating AI in healthcare and how it may need to be improved to “ensure fast access to safe and effective AI medical devices”, as well as on approaches to check safety once AI medical devices are in use, and how responsibility and liability are split between different parties involved in their deployment.
Accenture has announced its acquisition of Faculty, a UK-based company specialising in AI native services and products, with aims of expanding its AI offering for clients, in a move that will bring on board over 400 AI native professionals “including highly qualified data scientists and AI engineers”. Accenture will take on Faculty FrontierTM, described as “an enterprise decision intelligence product”, with the aim of helping to inform organisation’s decision making through access to connected data, AI models, and business products in a unified decision system.
A deep dive into progress around AI in healthcare over the last 12 months has outlined notable news stories, webinars, deep dives, and features from HTN in 2025.
