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BFD Expert Voices - Health Tech Deals

BFD Expert Voices

CVS Health EVP Tilak Mandadi doesn't believe in fixing health care — only in redesigning it with AI as its north star. 

Why it matters: Mandadi, who oversees the pharmacy giant's venture and technology efforts, spoke to Axios about startup investment strategy for CVS and his vision for putting consumers in the driver's seat of health care decisions.

This Axios Expert Voices interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Axios: What kinds of AI players are you looking to invest in or acquire?

Mandadi: "I'm not looking at anybody who doesn't use AI.

"There is no such thing as fixing health care. You need to redesign health care. AI is that leapfrog moment for health care which allows us to redesign so we can address the access issues, cost issues, quality issues and experience issues."

That's a large mandate. What specific kinds of companies are interesting to you?

"In value-based care, the thing that's always missing is patient engagement. How long does it take for you to get a primary care appointment? How long does it take for you to get a specialist appointment? 

"AI can address all those things, by being available, by holding their hand, by being specific, by creating transparency, and asking those questions in a timely fashion, and guiding them on what next best action is."

CVS Health Ventures isn't just an investor. How does it balance playing customer, co‑developer, and scaling partner roles?

"We have commercial relationships with 70% of our portfolio and we want to be an anchor customer."

Can you share an example of where CVS has used its enterprise muscle to accelerate a startup's trajectory?

"Abridge is widely deployed across Oak Street clinics and has become critical to their operations. 

"A lot of times, AI solutions are pushed — we push those solutions and people accept them and grow to like them. What's interesting about Abridge is [Oak Street] actually likes it a lot. There's a lot of active questions coming in, such as 'Can Abridge do this? If not, can that be on the road map?'"

What kinds of things are they asking for?

"One area we're working with Abridge on is incorporating prior authorization into the workflow — as in during-the-visit workflow. 

"Since Abridge is scribing, it has the data. The question is can it generate the necessary documentation for prior authorizations?"

Given your dual mandate — strategic bets and financial returns — have you faced tension choosing between agnostic returns and strategic fit?

"No. We socialize investments we want to make with the appropriate operating businesses up front. 

"We just came out with an investment in AmplifAI. It's not a pure health care AI play — it's an AI play for call centers. 

"Before we made the investment we asked our call centers, 'Do you see this as a gap? An opportunity?' They said yes, so we're testing the solution."

Death by pilot has become a notorious term in health tech. How do you avoid that?

"I just don't do pilots. I think pilots are awful. They almost always communicate a lack of commitment."

"We jump in. We completely commit. And then we give ourselves the flexibility to scale in a measured way and have the agility to pivot."

If you had to summarize your thoughts on the future of health care in a few sentences, what would they be?

"I think [health care] is going to be much more interoperable than the finance industry. 

"I think it'll be more patient experience and patient engagement-focused than it's ever been. 

"AI is going to be in every aspect of health care."

CVS Health's Tilak Mandadi on redesigning, not fixing, health care

The CVS Health EVP talked about the company's moves beyond pharmacy.

Photo illustration of Tilak Mandadi surrounded by abstract CVS health logos. 

CVS Health EVP Tilak Mandadi doesn&#x27;t believe in fixing health care — only in redesigning it with AI as its north star. Why it matters: Mandadi, who oversees the pharmacy giant&#x27;s venture and technology efforts, spoke to Axios about startup investment strategy for CVS and his vision for putting consumers in the driver&#x27;s seat of health care decisions.

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CVS Health's Tilak Mandadi on redesigning, not fixing, health care

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