
對于投資者而言,,這是一個新高點:利用人工智能解決醫(yī)療問題的初創(chuàng)公司。
根據(jù)市場調(diào)研機構(gòu)CB Insights的數(shù)據(jù),,2020年第二季度,,醫(yī)療人工智能領(lǐng)域的融資金額從上一季度的9.86億美元猛增至11億美元,增幅為14%,。
其中最大的一筆是Cedar于6 月獲得的7700萬美元投資,。這家初創(chuàng)公司利用機器學(xué)習(xí)及相關(guān)自動化技術(shù),使患者支付醫(yī)療費用的過程更輕松,。
CB Insights的醫(yī)療分析師王禾(音譯)告訴《財富》雜志,,他認(rèn)為,最關(guān)鍵的是,,機器學(xué)習(xí)讓一些耗時的流程可以自動化執(zhí)行,,例如賬單開具和支付流程。
王禾說,,隨著經(jīng)濟持續(xù)下滑,,醫(yī)療公司在成本方面面臨壓力,希望利用自動化技術(shù)來“削減成本”,。這些公司在“人力”上花了很多錢,,比如雇傭充當(dāng)收款人的代理人,或者給保險公司打電話詢問幕后財務(wù)細(xì)節(jié)的中間人,。尤其是在這個艱難的時期,,他們想通過減少員工數(shù)量來降低成本。
“每位首席財務(wù)官都希望,,在未來10至18個月內(nèi)削減10%的成本結(jié)構(gòu),。”王禾說,。
但是,,投資一家專門為醫(yī)療機構(gòu)實現(xiàn)日常任務(wù)自動化的初創(chuàng)公司,會不會使得初創(chuàng)公司朝美國以外、醫(yī)療系統(tǒng)可能不那么復(fù)雜的國家擴張呢,?
他表示,,以他的居住地——上海為例,人們在醫(yī)院進行常規(guī)體檢時,,只需要使用智能手機和支付寶來支付費用,。而在美國,人們可能需要多次打電話給保險公司,,支付一大堆賬單,。而且一般來說,就算你付了錢,,這事也不算完,比如可能會出現(xiàn)計算失誤問題,,而導(dǎo)致新的賬單出現(xiàn),。
你可能會爭辯說,美國的醫(yī)療體系相當(dāng)糟糕,,開支浪費頗多,,初創(chuàng)公司只需要幫助國內(nèi)醫(yī)療機構(gòu)改進IT服務(wù),就可以擴大規(guī)模了,。無論如何,,當(dāng)大多數(shù)醫(yī)療IT問題都集中在國內(nèi)時,初創(chuàng)公司又哪里需要走出美國呢,?
但眾所周知,,風(fēng)投人士并不僅僅是想投資公司的常規(guī)業(yè)務(wù),他們投資的目標(biāo)是,,能產(chǎn)生指數(shù)級回報的初創(chuàng)公司,,而這通常意味著這些公司需要走向全球。(財富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:Shog
對于投資者而言,,這是一個新高點:利用人工智能解決醫(yī)療問題的初創(chuàng)公司,。
根據(jù)市場調(diào)研機構(gòu)CB Insights的數(shù)據(jù),2020年第二季度,,醫(yī)療人工智能領(lǐng)域的融資金額從上一季度的9.86億美元猛增至11億美元,,增幅為14%。
其中最大的一筆是Cedar于6 月獲得的7700萬美元投資,。這家初創(chuàng)公司利用機器學(xué)習(xí)及相關(guān)自動化技術(shù),,使患者支付醫(yī)療費用的過程更輕松。
CB Insights的醫(yī)療分析師王禾(音譯)告訴《財富》雜志,,他認(rèn)為,,最關(guān)鍵的是,機器學(xué)習(xí)讓一些耗時的流程可以自動化執(zhí)行,,例如賬單開具和支付流程,。
王禾說,,隨著經(jīng)濟持續(xù)下滑,醫(yī)療公司在成本方面面臨壓力,,希望利用自動化技術(shù)來“削減成本”,。這些公司在“人力”上花了很多錢,比如雇傭充當(dāng)收款人的代理人,,或者給保險公司打電話詢問幕后財務(wù)細(xì)節(jié)的中間人,。尤其是在這個艱難的時期,他們想通過減少員工數(shù)量來降低成本,。
“每位首席財務(wù)官都希望,,在未來10至18個月內(nèi)削減10%的成本結(jié)構(gòu)?!蓖鹾陶f,。
但是,投資一家專門為醫(yī)療機構(gòu)實現(xiàn)日常任務(wù)自動化的初創(chuàng)公司,,會不會使得初創(chuàng)公司朝美國以外,、醫(yī)療系統(tǒng)可能不那么復(fù)雜的國家擴張呢?
他表示,,以他的居住地——上海為例,,人們在醫(yī)院進行常規(guī)體檢時,只需要使用智能手機和支付寶來支付費用,。而在美國,,人們可能需要多次打電話給保險公司,支付一大堆賬單,。而且一般來說,,就算你付了錢,這事也不算完,,比如可能會出現(xiàn)計算失誤問題,,而導(dǎo)致新的賬單出現(xiàn)。
你可能會爭辯說,,美國的醫(yī)療體系相當(dāng)糟糕,,開支浪費頗多,初創(chuàng)公司只需要幫助國內(nèi)醫(yī)療機構(gòu)改進IT服務(wù),,就可以擴大規(guī)模了,。無論如何,當(dāng)大多數(shù)醫(yī)療IT問題都集中在國內(nèi)時,,初創(chuàng)公司又哪里需要走出美國呢,?
但眾所周知,風(fēng)投人士并不僅僅是想投資公司的常規(guī)業(yè)務(wù),他們投資的目標(biāo)是,,能產(chǎn)生指數(shù)級回報的初創(chuàng)公司,,而這通常意味著這些公司需要走向全球。(財富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:Shog
The shiny new thing for investors: startups using artificial intelligence to fix healthcare woes.
Healthcare-related A.I. funding jumped 14% to $1.1 billion in the second quarter of 2020 from $986 million during the previous quarter, according to market intelligence firm CB Insights.
One of the biggest deals in recent months was Cedar’s $77 million round, which it landed in June. That startup uses machine learning and related automation tech to make it easier for patients to pay their healthcare bills.
He Wang, a healthcare analyst for CB Insights, told Fortune that “the biggest theme” he sees is the idea that machine learning is “automating” time-consuming tasks, like those related to billing and payments.
Healthcare firms are especially interested (and under pressure) to use automation tech “to cut costs” as the economy continues to decline, Wang said. Those firms spend a lot of money on “human capital in this space,” or the agents who act as bill collectors or the middlemen who call insurance companies regarding behind-the-scenes financial minutiae. Especially in these trying times, they want to save money by employing less people than they used to.
“Every CFO is looking to cut 10% of their cost structure in the next 10-18 months,” Wang said.
But would an investment in a startup that specializes in automating mundane tasks for healthcare firms “scale” in countries outside the U.S., where healthcare systems may be less complicated?
In Shanghai, where Wang is based, he says people can get a routine physical exam at a hospital and simply pay for the visit using their smartphone and the Alipay service app. Compare that scenario to going to the doctor in the U.S., which can entail multiple phone calls with insurance providers, tons of bills, and a general sense that even after you pay for a visit, something isn’t quite finished—there could be some sort of calculation error resulting in another bill down the road.
You could argue that the healthcare system in the U.S. is so broken, with so much wasted spending, that a startup could become a massive business simply by helping domestic healthcare firms manage their IT better. Who needs the rest of the world when the majority of the healthcare-related IT problems are here in the U.S. anyway?
But we all know that venture capitalists aren’t merely looking to fund your run-of-the-mill software business. They want to put money into a startup that will generate exponential returns—and oftentimes that means these companies need to go global.