Photo: Courtesy Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic and Silicon Valley investor Khosla Ventures are collaborating to provide a direct health system pipeline to emerging technologies in areas such as artificial intelligence, digital health and next-generation therapeutics.
The collaboration includes agreements with Khosla-backed companies and identifying and incubating Cleveland Clinic research for the potential creation of new companies
Cleveland Clinic said it has entered into customer agreements and commercial relationships with Khosla-backed companies and is evaluating several others.
As part of the collaboration, Khosla Ventures portfolio companies can work with Cleveland Clinic providers to showcase and test new technologies at all stages, from clinical validation to commercial adoption. This access gives startups the advantage of demonstrating value directly with clinicians and also accelerates scalable solutions.
Cleveland Clinic and Khosla Ventures are also exploring opportunities to jointly incubate a new company. Khosla Ventures will lead technical development and recruiting, while Cleveland Clinic plans to provide the clinical environment to test, refine and scale the service. No further information was given about the new company.
Dr. Hal Paz, operating partner at Khosla Ventures and former health system CEO, said, "AI is the most transformative technology of our lifetime, and its impact on healthcare will be massive. This relationship with Cleveland Clinic – one of the most respected health institutions in the world – gives our companies an advantage to validate and scale their innovations."
"This collaboration pairs our health system's expertise in biomedical research, clinical care and innovation with Khosla Ventures' venture expertise and network of entrepreneurs to drive meaningful advancements in the healthcare industry," said Geoff Vince, chief, Cleveland Clinic Innovations. "Together, we aim to accelerate transformational innovation, foster groundbreaking technologies, and ultimately improve patient outcomes."
The partnership will be supported by Cleveland Clinic Innovations. CCI is the health system's innovation arm, which has brought 900 technologies to licensed products and launched more than 100 spin-off companies since 2000.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The organizations said they plan to prioritize areas where technology will have the greatest impact on health.
This includes:
AI and digital health to automate workflows, improve diagnostics and personalize treatment.
Advancing next-generation therapeutics and diagnostics, especially in cardiology, oncology, neurology and musculoskeletal care.
Developing new models of care, from home-based services to multispecialty primary care and global second-opinion programs.
Creating value-based strategies for Medicare, Medicaid and dual-eligible populations.
THE LARGER TREND
The new collaboration was announced at Cleveland Clinic Life Sciences Summit on Oct. 14 in London.
Cleveland Clinic is a 6,728-bed health system that includes the main campus near downtown Cleveland and 23 hospitals.
Khosla Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on investments in artificial intelligence, financial services, healthcare and more. It is known for making early capital investments in startups, such as OpenAI, Guardant Health, Instacart, Affirm, DoorDash and Block.
Dr. Hal Paz has served as CEO of the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, where he led partnerships with companies, including One Medical, Dispatch Health, Alternate Health Solutions and Teladoc Health. As CEO of Penn State Health, he led the creation of joint ventures and partnerships with Select Medical, United Surgical Partners International (USPI) and Highmark.
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org
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