In January 2026, reporting revealed that ICE was using a Palantir-built tool called ELITE that taps Medicaid data to identify and arrest people for deportation. The tool maps potential targets and provides 'confidence scores' for individuals' current addresses. A data-sharing agreement between ICE and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services gave ICE access to personal data of nearly 80 million Medicaid patients. The Electronic Frontier Foundation challenged the use of healthcare data for immigration enforcement, arguing patients never consented to their health-related information being repurposed for deportation.
In December 2025, NHS Confederation and Limbic launched a partnership to explore responsible AI adoption in mental health services. Limbic's AI is used by 500,000+ patients across 45% of NHS England regions. The company achieved Class IIa medical device certification - the only mental health AI chatbot to do so in the UK.
Two Chairs built a hybrid mental health provider model employing 500+ licensed therapists as W2 employees (not gig workers) across 22 states covering 75% of US population. Their research-backed matching process achieves 98% first-match success rate. The company expanded from 3 to 22 states while maintaining quality through measurement-based care.
After Amazon acquired One Medical for $3.9 billion in 2023, leaked documents reported by The Washington Post and PBS NewsHour revealed that the company routed patient phone calls to a call center in Tempe, Arizona staffed by workers lacking medical training. In over a dozen cases, patients calling with 'red flag' symptoms — indicating potentially life-threatening conditions — were not appropriately escalated. Meanwhile, senior patient care deteriorated: appointment times shortened, clinical staff lost their jobs, and providers were expected to see twice as many patients daily. An Oregon state follow-up report confirmed these service reductions.
Ieso provides NHS CBT therapy services to over 20 million adults through a network of 600+ therapists, delivering 460,000+ hours of cognitive behavioral therapy annually. The company built the world's largest outcomes-indexed mental health dataset from 145,000+ patients, enabling research into treatment effectiveness.
Smiling Mind operates as a true nonprofit since 2012, providing a completely free mindfulness and meditation app with 700+ sessions. Unlike for-profit mental health apps that monetize user data, Smiling Mind's nonprofit model ensures no profit motive for data exploitation. The organization demonstrates sustainable nonprofit digital mental health care.
In 2024, John Collison launched a five-year health initiative in Ireland, funded in the millions, aimed at halving the time it takes to diagnose cerebral palsy in newborns. The initiative represents a significant personal commitment to healthcare access in his home country.
Alma built a membership-based network helping 8,000+ independent mental health providers accept insurance through contracting, credentialing, and claims processing. The platform is available in all 50 states and backed by major health insurers Cigna and Optum, improving access to affordable mental health care by making insurance acceptance easier for independent therapists.
Intellect built Asia's largest mental health platform serving 3.7 million users across 40 languages with culturally-adapted mental health support. Backed by Y Combinator and Tiger Global, the Singapore-based company addresses the significant mental health treatment gap in Southeast Asia where stigma and lack of access remain major barriers.
Lyra Health, founded by former Meta CFO David Ebersman, built partnerships with 300+ leading companies including Meta, Pinterest, and Starbucks to provide mental health care access to over 20 million people. The company focuses on removing barriers to workplace mental health with tools for HR leaders and managers.
MindSpot operates as a free Australian government-funded online mental health service providing evidence-based CBT. The service has completed over 121,000 assessments with large effect sizes (d=1.40-1.45), 50% symptom reduction, and 95% of users saying they would recommend the service. This demonstrates the viability of publicly-funded digital mental health care.
Naluri established Malaysia's largest mental health dataset with over 20,000 adult participants through rigorous clinical research programs. The TELUS-backed company combines digital therapeutics with evidence-based research, partnering with government health initiatives to address mental health needs in Malaysia.
Amaha (formerly InnerHour) became India's leading mental health platform with 4.5 million users and 110+ in-house therapists. The company addresses India's significant mental health treatment gap where only a small fraction of those needing care receive it, making therapy accessible through digital platforms in a country with severe psychiatrist shortages.
HelloBetter received Digital Health Application (DiGA) certification from Germany's Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices for six mental health programs. The certification means 73 million Germans can access the programs with 100% health insurance coverage. HelloBetter's evidence base of 33 peer-reviewed RCTs is the strongest globally for digital mental health interventions.
Google Health developed and deployed AI-powered medical diagnostic tools across multiple domains: partnering with Nexus Intelligence for TB screening from chest x-rays in endemic countries, collaborating with Mayo Clinic on AI-assisted cancer radiotherapy planning, and building AI models to expand ultrasound access for healthcare providers with limited training. In January 2025, Google released MedGemma 1.5, an open medical AI model for interpreting 3D CT/MRI scans and histopathology images. These tools aim to improve diagnostic accuracy and accessibility in resource-limited healthcare settings.
In April-May 2021, Bill Gates personally opposed waiving TRIPS intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines, arguing that vaccine factory capacity, not patents, was the bottleneck. Gates lobbied US Trade Representative Katherine Tai against the waiver. Critics noted the Gates Foundation had earlier convinced Oxford University to partner exclusively with AstraZeneca rather than sharing its vaccine formula through an open license. The Foundation reversed course in May 2021, stating support for a narrow waiver during the pandemic.
$10.0M
In 2020, Brian Chesky personally donated $10 million to nonprofit organizations supporting frontline healthcare and essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
In March 2020, Palantir received an emergency NHS contract at a nominal £1 to build the NHS COVID-19 Data Store. The contract was extended in December 2020 to a two-year £23.5M deal reaching beyond COVID to Brexit planning and general business operations. Investigations revealed Palantir had been lobbying NHS leaders since at least July 2019, before the pandemic, raising concerns the emergency was used to secure a strategic foothold in NHS data infrastructure.
In January 2020, Microsoft launched AI for Health, a philanthropic program providing AI tools, cloud computing, and grants to nonprofits, researchers, and organizations tackling global health challenges. Over 200 organizations have partnered through the program. Notable projects include AI-powered pancreatic cancer detection with Fred Hutch (potentially saving 30,000 lives annually by catching tumors missed in ~40% of CT scans), AI4HealthyCities cardiovascular risk assessment with the Novartis Foundation, and DAX Copilot clinical note automation freeing physicians to focus on patients.
In September 2018, Apple received FDA clearance for the Apple Watch Series 4 with electrocardiogram (ECG) capability, making it the first consumer device to offer over-the-counter heart rhythm monitoring. The ECG feature achieved 99.3% specificity and 98.5% sensitivity for detecting atrial fibrillation. The Stanford-partnered Apple Heart Study validated the approach. In 2024, the FDA approved Apple Watch's heart monitoring tool for use in clinical trials under the Medical Device Development Tools (MDDT) program — the first digital health tool to receive this qualification. The feature has been credited with detecting previously undiagnosed heart conditions in users worldwide.