According to a source with direct knowledge of the matter, OpenAI has agreed to acquire the artificial intelligence healthcare application Torch for approximately $100 million, with payment to be made in equity. The app has been on the market for only one year.
Torch helps users view and analyze health data from various sources, including healthcare systems like Kaiser Permanente, medical imaging companies like Prenuvo, and fitness tracking applications like Apple Health. Another informed source indicated that the total transaction value includes an upfront payment of $60 million, with the remaining portion to be paid in equity as an incentive to retain key employees.
This acquisition of the startup is expected to assist OpenAI in advancing its own plans to launch a personalized health assistant within ChatGPT, which could analyze medical records and offer users advice on health issues. Torch stated that its product partially relies on OpenAI's AI models to generate personalized medical insights based on user data. The current user base for this chatbot tool is unclear, as the app is currently available only to a specific, private group of users.
All four of Torch's employees, including CEO Ilya Abyzov, are planning to join OpenAI. They founded Torch last year, following the cessation of operations of their previous startup, the health clinic operator Forward, at the end of 2024. Torch had secured a small amount of early-stage funding from investors including former Forward CEO and Torch co-founder Adrian Aoun, as well as firms like First Round Capital.
After Torch's founders posted about the acquisition on the X platform, OpenAI posted on X stating, "Combining this technology with ChatGPT's health features will unlock new ways for people to understand and manage their health."
This acquisition takes place against an industry backdrop where native AI startups are scrambling to seize market opportunities, leveraging chatbot tools to meet public demand for health-related consultations and address long-standing pain points in healthcare, such as the difficulty users face in consolidating their personal health history.
Last week, OpenAI announced the launch of a health features section within ChatGPT, allowing users to ask health-related questions by integrating their personal medical records with data from fitness apps like Apple Health and MyFitnessPal. Over the weekend, Anthropic also added health features to its chatbot Claude, including allowing subscribers to link Claude with their personal medical records and fitness data.
For OpenAI, the addition of the Torch team will bring technical expertise in integrating disparate medical information and accurately evaluating it. For instance, the software developed by the team can handle conflicts between data from different sources, such as reconciling inconsistent data from fitness trackers and healthcare providers.
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