The trend: Leading healthcare AI startups are rolling out new products and capabilities as they compete for physician buy-in and investment funding.

Here’s what’s happening:

OpenEvidence, often described as a “ChatGPT for doctors,” recently secured partnerships with major medical journals to strengthen the reliability of its AI for physicians. OpenEvidence raised $200 million at a $6 billion valuation in a funding round this week, per The New York Times.

Abridge, which makes AI scribe technology for physicians, announced that users can now access medical guidance from Wolters Kluwer’s UpToDate tool directly in the Abridge platform. UpToDate—regarded as the top medical resource tool available to physicians before OpenEvidence debuted its AI-powered healthcare search engine in 2023—recently beefed up its genAI capabilities to deliver faster answers.

Doximity, which provides tools to help doctors manage administrative work and stay current on medical news, acquired AI startup Pathway Medical in August. The combined platform will give Doximity advanced AI tools to support physicians seeking clinical guidance.

Why it matters: The market is responding to physicians’ desire for better tools to help them treat patients. Though many doctors are hesitant to trust AI to diagnose patients directly, they see value in its potential to deliver quicker insights and reduce documentation burdens.

• Physicians are most comfortable using AI for administrative tasks (35%) and medical research/literature review (30%), per a July 2025 Healthlinks Dimensions survey.
• 68% of doctors think AI gives them an advantage in caring for patients, compared with 9% who perceive a disadvantage, according to a February 2025 American Medical Association report.

Our take: Market consolidation is inevitable with multiple companies building similar doctor-focused solutions. Players in this space are now competing on factors such as physician adoption, user experience, proven efficiency gains, and trust in the technology.

Companies can gain an advantage by easily integrating their products into clinicians’ existing workflows, such as their EHRs. Startups should showcase their tech’s outcomes to key stakeholders such as medical associations to build credibility among clinicians.