knowledge -WSS

knowledge

author：explore 2025-10-02 18:50:17 - browse：4

Bob Kocher, a partner at venture capital firm Venrock, speaking at STAT's Breakthrough Summit in San Francisco. Sarah Gonzalez for STAT

SAN FRANCISCO — Health tech investor Bob Kocher has seen some bad AI-related startup pitches in his time. The worst typically involve AI chatbots masquerading as romantic partners to improve people’s mental health.

“They pitch it to me as a mental health improvement model,” Kocher, a partner at venture capital firm Venrock, said. “If you’re sad, anxious, or depressed, why bother with people?”

Kocher, who is also a doctor and helped write the Affordable Care Act as an Obama administration health official, shared his thoughts on the biggest questions facing digital health at STAT’s Breakthrough Summit on Thursday. Besides sharing a peek inside his generative AI pitch-filled inbox, Kocher talked about cybersecurity vulnerabilities in health systems and venture capitalists buying hospitals.

STAT+ Exclusive Story

Already have an account? Log in

This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers

Unlock this article — and get additional analysis of the technologies disrupting health care — by subscribing to STAT+.

Already have an account? Log in

Monthly

$39

Totals $468 per year

$39/month Get Started

Totals $468 per year

Starter

$30

for 3 months, then $39/month

$30 for 3 months Get Started

Then $39/month

Annual

$399

Save 15%

$399/year Get Started

Save 15%

11+ Users

Custom

Savings start at 25%!

Request A Quote Request A Quote

Savings start at 25%!

2-10 Users

$300

Annually per user

$300/year Get Started

$300 Annually per user

View All Plans

Get unlimited access to award-winning journalism and exclusive events.

Subscribe Log In

Previous article： The cancer drug shortage isn’t new — and neither are the solutions
Next article： H.R. 3 is the wrong path to lower drug costs

WSS

Data integrity in scientific journals requires "effort" by publishers, institutions

Venture capitalist Bob Kocher on the state of digital health

Solving academic medical centers' existential crisis

Judge partially blocks Texas abortion ban for medical emergencies, fatal diagnoses

Pharma showers House GOP doctor with campaign cash

With measles on the rise, a personal story of a devastating disease

hotspot

knowledge

This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers

Unlock this article — and get additional analysis of the technologies disrupting health care — by subscribing to STAT+.

leisure time

Sports medicine is finally prioritizing gender equality

When prostate cancer spreads, where it goes matters

Apple is now the first public company to be valued at $3 trillion

Pharma showers House GOP doctor with campaign cash

Continuity nursing helped my family in our darkest PICU moments

Criminal prosecution for violating HIPAA: an emerging threat

State Dept. review finds Biden bears some blame for Afghanistan failures

Anxious about a speech? A startup wants you to pop a minty cardiac drug

Drug repurposing or repositioning? The language matters

A controversial new treatment promises to make little people taller

leisure time

Glen Campbell's doctor discusses his public struggle with Alzheimer's

A controversial new treatment promises to make little people taller

Readers respond to H5N1 and livestock movements, and more

Second House panel advances two

A controversial new treatment promises to make little people taller

FDA approves Sage Therapeutics’ rapid

entertainment

hotspot

Wikipedia

hotspot