AI for Healthcare Gets Practical as IBM sells Watson Health

At one time IBM Watson Health was featured in articles that claimed it might cure cancer. But the splashy coverage of IBM's artificial intelligence brand aimed at the healthcare industry was maybe an instance when the hype about a particular technology -- AI -- got ahead of that technology's actual capabilities. After a few high-profile public failures over the past several years, IBM has announced that it is selling the parts of its Watson Health business to private equity firm Francisco Partners -- a sale that many in the industry had expected for the past year. The assets sold include data sets and products from the many acquisitions IBM completed to roll into the Watson Health brand including Health Insights, MarketScan, Clinical Development, Social Program Management, Micromedex, and imaging software. Francisco Partners will employ key members of the Watson Health team and stand up its own business in the future, the companies said in the announcement of the deal.