AI in Healthcare

Today's Stories

1. 1

   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.

2. 2

   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%).

3. 3

   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.

4. 4

   Nurses protest HCA's Palantir AI use

   Nurses rallied in downtown Asheville on Thursday, Aug. 27, calling on HCA Healthcare to stop using Palantir, an AI system they say affects staffing, privacy, and patient care. The National Nurses Union says HCA uses Palantir to schedule nurses instead of letting staff set schedules locally, and that the system has been used by ICE to identify people for deportation, raising privacy and care concerns.

   The Asheville protest was one of eight held across the country by the National Nurses Union, indicating broader opposition to the technology.

5. 5

   Chugai and Phylo partner on agentic AI

   Chugai Pharmaceutical began rolling out an agentic AI platform across its drug discovery workflow and partnered with Phylo to apply the technology to single-cell data, human genetics, and disease biology. The move leverages Chugai's solid profitability to fund AI-driven R&D, aiming for earlier and more precise target selection. It addresses short-term concerns about R&D productivity and diversification, but its impact on sales dependence on Hemlibra and Actemra remains unclear and does not materially change near-term patent or pricing risks.

   A consensus forecast sees fair value at ¥9,687, implying 38% upside from the current price. More optimistic analysts already model sales near ¥1.935 trillion and profit around ¥810 billion by 2029, before the Phylo deal.

6. 6

   Vijay Pande leaves a16z to launch small AI-focused VC firm

   Vijay Pande, who grew a16z's healthcare practice to manage close to $4 billion, left last June to co-found VZVC with Zach Werner. The new firm makes about five concentrated bets a year instead of 30. Pande argues biology is becoming an engineering discipline, where AI can design drugs and even run trials. He says the failure rate for drugs is high (only 20% succeed from first to third trial) because animal models aren't predictive of humans, and AI could be better.

   VZVC relies on AI agents instead of hiring associates, so the investment team is just Pande and Werner. Pande is focusing on AI for healthcare delivery and AI for clinical trials, and expects founder relationships to last 5 to 10 years plus.