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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.

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