AI in Healthcare

Today's Stories

1. 1

   AI giants turn to health care to ease public backlash

   AI giants are leaning into health care as a strategy to stall public backlash, according to Axios. This move is significant for business readers because it shows how major tech companies are using a trusted sector like health care to build public trust and counter concerns about AI's risks.

   Watch for how these companies integrate AI into health care services and whether this approach effectively reduces public criticism.

2. 2

   Biotech Funding Steady as AI Surges

   Global funding to biotech startups has held between $36 billion and $40 billion for the past few years, and 2026 is on track to stay close to that range, per Crunchbase data. Overall venture investment hit a record level in the first half of this year. Even as AI draws massive funding, biotech remains a rare steady sector for investment. So far this year, more than $6 billion went to AI-focused biotechs, including a $2.1 billion Series B for Isomorphic Labs, the largest biotech round of the year.

   Biotech funding and exits are holding up at healthy levels, with at least 12 funded companies sold for $1 billion or more this year. As AI-biotech funding accumulates, more enthusiasm may spill over in coming quarters.

3. 3

   AI-generated fake diagnosis fools 44% of trainee doctors

   Researchers at Lille University Hospital in France rigged an LLM-based diagnostic support system to suggest a fake disease called "neurocadmiumatosis." In a study with 41 doctors, 18 (44%) included this nonexistent condition in their differential diagnosis lists. The study found that experience matters: 69% of doctors with 6 months or less of neuroradiology training accepted the fake diagnosis, while none of the 15 with more than 6 months of training were fooled. Even those who accepted it had low confidence (median 37%) compared with 80% for their top diagnosis. The researchers named this phenomenon "hallucination by proxy."

   Despite the fake diagnosis, LLM support overall improved diagnostic accuracy from 52% to 61% for all participants. The improvement was similar whether doctors accepted or rejected the fake diagnosis.

4. 4

   Tempus AI Stock Jumps After Moderna-Merck Vaccine Success

   Social media conversations about Tempus AI intensified after Moderna and Merck reported Phase 3 success in personalized cancer vaccines, and observers point to notable stock gains as a result. The development is seen as validating broader applications in precision oncology and sequencing technologies, and it highlights Tempus's data capabilities and recent acquisitions as potential long-term growth factors.

   Tempus AI reported Q2 2026 revenues of $382.5M, up 21.56% from the prior year, and recently saw 103 insider sales over the past 6 months, including 70 by CEO Eric Lefkofsky.

5. 5

   34% of Americans Use AI Chatbots for Health: Pew

   A Pew Research Center survey of 3,488 U.S. adults found that 34% have used AI chatbots for at least one of eight health-related reasons, such as getting information quickly (28%), figuring out symptoms (25%), or learning more about a doctor's diagnosis (22%). While 47% of these chatbot health users find the information extremely or very helpful, only 29% feel extremely or very comfortable sharing personal health information with a chatbot. This comes amid scrutiny over platforms storing or selling health data and using it to train large language models.

   Asian Americans (56%) and adults ages 18-29 (44%) are the most likely to be chatbot health users, while those more concerned about increased AI use are far less likely to use them for health (21%) compared with those more excited about AI (60%).

6. 6

   Merck, Amgen, JNJ Beat S&P 500 by 29 Points

   Merck & Company, Amgen, and Johnson & Johnson are highlighted as AI-linked healthcare stocks that have outperformed the S&P 500 this year. Merck stock is up 42% year to date, beating the market by about 29 percentage points. Amgen is up 34%, beating the market by around 21 points, and Johnson & Johnson is up 28%, outperforming by 15 points. These companies combine AI-driven drug discovery and medical technology with steady dividends, offering income and growth outside the usual AI trade. Healthcare demand is seen as permanent, making these businesses durable. Merck partners with Google Cloud for AI, Amgen uses NVIDIA tech to predict protein properties, and Johnson & Johnson runs the Polyphonic AI Fund for Surgery.

   Each stock pays a forward annual dividend and holds a Moderate Buy rating from analysts. Merck pays $3.40 per share (about 2.17% yield), Amgen pays $10.08 per share (about 2.3%), and Johnson & Johnson pays $5.36 per share (about 2%). Amgen is trading close to its high target price, while Merck and JNJ have potential upside.