The days of claiming artificial intelligence as a feature that set one startup or company apart from the others are over. These days, one would be hard-pressed to find any technology company attracting venture funding or partnerships that doesn't posit to use some form of machine learning. But for companies trying to innovate in healthcare using artificial intelligence, the stakes are considerably higher, meaning the hype surrounding the buzzword can be deflated far more quickly than in some other industry, where a mistaken algorithm doesn't mean the difference between life and death. Over the past five years, the number of digital health companies employing some form of artificial intelligence has dramatically increased. CB Insights tracked 100 AI-focused healthcare companies just this year, and noted 50 had raised their first equity rounds since January 2015.

The days of claiming artificial intelligence as a feature that set one startup or company apart from the others are over. These days, one would be hard-pressed to find any technology company attracting venture funding or partnerships that doesn't posit to use some form of machine learning. But for companies trying to innovate in healthcare using artificial intelligence, the stakes are considerably higher, meaning the hype surrounding the buzzword can be deflated far more quickly than in some other industry, where a mistaken algorithm doesn't mean the difference between life and death. Over the past five years, the number of digital health companies employing some form of artificial intelligence has dramatically increased. CB Insights tracked 100 AI-focused healthcare companies just this year, and noted 50 had raised their first equity rounds since January 2015.