OpenAI and Anthropic are making their play for healthcare, and we're not surprised

AI companies are clustering around healthcare and fast.

In just the past week, OpenAI bought health startup Torch (techcrunch.com/2026/01/12/openai-buys-tiny-hea…), Anthropic launched Claude for Health (techcrunch.com/2026/01/12/anthropic-announces-…), and Sam Altman-backed MergeLabs closed a $250 million seed round (techcrunch.com/2026/01/15/openai-invests-in-sa…) at an $850 million valuation. The money and products are pouring into health and voice AI (techcrunch.com/2026/01/13/elevenlabs-ceo-says-…), but so are concerns about hallucination risks, inaccurate medical information, and massive security vulnerabilities in systems handling sensitive patient data.

Today on TechCrunch’s Equity (techcrunch.com/podcasts/equity) podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O'Kane dig into why the AI world is suddenly obsessed with health care, what other products can expect an AI-makeover, and more.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

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How Anthropic's co-work tool (techcrunch.com/2026/01/12/anthropics-new-cowor…)could threaten Salesforce and other enterprise software giants

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Bandcamp’s move against AI, banning AI-generated music (techcrunch.com/2026/01/14/bandcamp-takes-a-sta…)from its platform

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Why fusion energy is heating up, with startups like Type One Energy suddenly raising hundreds of millions (techcrunch.com/2026/01/14/bill-gates-backed-ty…)

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The latest on Luminar's bankruptcy (techcrunch.com/2026/01/12/luminar-lines-up-22-…) and a potential bidding war overits LIDAR assets

Chapters:

00:00 - Introduction

00:29 - Waymo testing in New York City?

02:13 - Bandcamp bans AI-generated music

04:57 - Luminar's bankruptcy and LIDAR fire sale

10:28 - Type One Energy's fusion funding frenzy

16:10 - AI's healthcare land grab

23:28 - Voice AI deals heat up

25:26 - Anthropic's co-work tool threatens enterprise software

Subscribe to Equity on ⁠YouTube⁠ (youtube.com/@TechCrunch),⁠ Apple Podcasts⁠ (itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1215439780),⁠ Overcast⁠ (overcast.fm/itunes1215439780/equity),⁠ Spotify⁠ (open.spotify.com/show/5IEYLip3eDppcOmy5DmphC?s…) and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on⁠ X⁠ (twitter.com/EquityPod) and⁠ Threads⁠ (threads.net/@equitypod), at @EquityPod.

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