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Google and Microsoft couldn't crack consumer adoption in health records and care management.

OpenAI and Anthropic look like they might.

Why it matters: The advent of LLMs is changing the game in consumers' quest for answers about their health.

Driving the news: Both companies made splashy JPM-week announcements in San Francisco, fueling Union Square buzz as investors, entrepreneurs and policymakers cheered their bid to champion AI-driven care.

OpenAI acquired Torch, a small startup that unifies lab results, medications and visit recordings in a deal reportedly valued at $100 million.

Anthropic introduced Claude for Healthcare, allowing providers, payers, and consumers to use Claude for medical purposes through HIPAA-ready products.

Both companies also announced features that will allow users to upload their medical records from wellness apps like Apple Health and Function.

Context: Even before OpenAI released a version of ChatGPT specific to health care, more than 40 million people globally were turning to the tool for health information.

"Language models [like ChatGPT and Claude] are so easy to interact with — for that reason alone you'll see massive uptake in consumer health," B Capital's global head of healthcare Robert Mittendorff told Axios Pro at a meeting during JPM.

"I think patient demand is here and I think it's different from Dr. Google, because it's personalized. They have this data and can personalize the recommendations and make it very specific," Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services strategic advisor Amy Gleason said during a panel outside JPM.

Case in point: Gleason shared that her daughter, Morgan, was rejected from participating in a clinical trial due to a diagnosis given to her by a clinician.

ChatGPT suggested an alternate diagnosis that would allow her to join and participate in the same trial.

"Now she's eligible to participate, and that's because ChatGPT read her records from 15 years ago," she said.

Between the lines: The sheer number of digital health companies currently relying on OpenAI and Anthropic for foundation models is also driving significant uptake.

Open AI and Anthropic are making inroads in hospitals and health systems, launching their own efforts to turbocharge AI efficiency within those organizations.

"I feel like this is the early days of the big productivity jumps of Microsoft and PCs. This is the next evolution of that — we're empowering people to solve complex problems with these tools," Banner Health EVP and CTO Michael Reagin tells Axios Pro.

What's next: For genAI giants, the next battle lines will be drawn on distribution, says Breyer Capital partner and head of health care and life sciences Morgan Cheatham.

OpenAI and Anthropic are "positioned to rapidly commoditize primary care and basic diagnostics, and gobble up entire markets where dedicated vertical startups play today," says WestBridge Capital SVP Kamal Singh.

What we're watching: How successful AI companies will be at monetizing the troves of data they're collecting and whether it has a meaningful impact on patients.

The bottom line: "I'm glad they're getting into health care," adds Mittendorff. "Patients could potentially be more informed — absent the hallucinations, of course."

A new breed of Big Tech is drawing huge consumer health demand

GenAI native giants OpenAI and Anthropic are driving consumer uptake where Google and Microsoft struggled.

Illustration of a text message conversation featuring a sick person emoji, and a medical kit, shot, and pill emojis

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Google" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/pro/health-tech-deals/2023/10/10/google-svp-ai-health-data-privacy-hlth" data-vars-content-id="98699e6b-837b-4a88-a207-b7941c461d46" data-vars-headline="A new breed of Big Tech is drawing huge consumer health demand" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/pro/health-tech-deals/2023/10/10/google-svp-ai-health-data-privacy-hlth" target="_self">Google</a> and Microsoft couldn&#x27;t crack consumer adoption in health records and care management.<ul><li>OpenAI and Anthropic look like they might.</li></ul>Why it matters: The advent of LLMs is changing the game in consumers&#x27; quest for answers about their health.

A new breed of Big Tech is drawing huge consumer health demand

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