AI companies lean on health care for a credibility reset

Healthcare has become a central proving ground for the current AI wave, offering both a major commercial opportunity and a more positive public narrative for an industry facing criticism over utility costs, power-grid strain, data centers, lawsuits and job fears. The sector’s complexity, scale and reliance on fragmented data make it a natural target, with healthcare described as approaching 20% of US GDP.

Large AI players are making visible bets on drug discovery and medicine. Anthropic is emphasizing biology and medicine ahead of its IPO, Nvidia and Eli Lilly are building a $1 billion drug discovery lab in San Francisco, and Isomorphic Labs, Google’s AI drug discovery spinoff, recently raised $2.1 billion while collaborating with Novartis, Lilly and Johnson & Johnson. Yet AI-led drug breakthroughs remain uncertain and may still be years away, while powerful models also raise biosecurity concerns.

The nearer-term consumer story is wellness. Google’s screenless Fitbit Air centers on an AI health coach, Apple, Google and Samsung watches lead with health features, and Oura has filed confidentially to go public after smart rings became a distinct category, with reports pointing to a valuation well past $10 billion. Wearables may offer daily preventive value through sleep, fitness and early-warning tools, but mainstream utility still has to be proven device by device.