Comprehensive Scoring Analysis

A growing number of people are asking OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other LLMs about their health, often discovering that the ch…

KJ Dhaliwal (pictured left), who in 2019 sold the South Asian dating app Dil Mil for $50 million, says he has been thin…

healthcare system ever since he was a child acting as a medical translator for his parents, and he saw the advent of LL…

In May 2024, he launched Lotus Health AI, a free primary care provider that’s available 24/7 in 50 languages.

On Tuesday, Lotus announced it raised $35 million in a Series A round co-led by CRV and Kleiner Perkins, bringing its t…

People are already consulting AI about their health, but Lotus goes a step further: it moves beyond those chats to faci…

In essence, Lotus is building an AI doctor that functions a real medical practice, equipped with a license to operate i…

The key difference is that the majority of the work is done by AI, which is trained to ask the same questions a doctor …

Since AI models are also prone to hallucinations, the company always has board-certified human doctors from top health …

Techcrunch event TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026: Tickets Live On June 23 in Boston, more than 1,100 founders come toget…

Learn from founders and investors who have shaped the industry.

Connect with peers navigating similar growth stages.

Walk away with tactics you can apply immediately up to $300 on your pass or up to 30% with group tickets for teams of f…

TechCrunch Founder Summit: Tickets Live On June 23 in Boston, more than 1,100 founders come together at TechCrunch Foun…

Learn from founders and investors who have shaped the industry.

Connect with peers navigating similar growth stages.

Walk away with tactics you can apply immediately up to $300 on your pass or up to 30% with group tickets for teams of f…

Boston, MA | REGISTER NOW Lotus has developed an AI model that, similar to OpenEvidence, synthesizes the latest evidenc…

“AI is giving the advice, but the real doctors are actually signing off on it,” Dhaliwal told TechCrunch.

Lotus recognizes the limits of virtual care.

For urgent health issues, Lotus directs patients to the nearest urgent care center or emergency room.

And if a case requires a physical examination, the platform refers the patient to an in-person physician, Dhaliwal said.

Outsourcing such a significant portion of medical decision-making to AI is an ambitious bet given the regulatory hurdle…

For instance, physicians are restricted to seeing patients only in the states where they hold a license.

As CRV general partner Saar Gur, who led the deal and joined the company’s board, put it: “There are many challenges, b…

” Gur (pictured right), an early investor in DoorDash, Mercury, and Ring, is convinced that the telemedicine frameworks…

“It’s a big swing,” Gur said.

But for an investor Gur, that’s the draw: Lotus is attempting to fundamentally reimagine the entire primary care model.

At a time when primary care doctors are in short supply, Lotus claims it can see 10 times as many patients as a traditi…

The startup isn’t the only one building an AI doctor.

Lightspeed-backed Doctronic is one of the competitors.

Lotus is differentiating itself — at least for now — by offering its entire suite of care completely free of charge.

Dhaliwal said that eventual business models may include sponsored content or subscriptions, but the current focus remai…