OpenAI Startup Fund and Thrive Global, a behavioral-change technology platform founded by Arianna Huffington, announced they are launching a new venture called Thrive AI Health. This company aims to provide personalized health coaching using generative AI.
Thrive AI Health will offer an AI-driven personalized health coach focused on five key areas: connection, sleep, fitness, stress management, and nutrition. The companies highlight that this coach will be instrumental in disease prevention and optimizing treatment.
The coach will utilize methodologies from both OpenAI and Thrive Global, incorporating peer-reviewed scientific research, individual user preferences and goals, as well as various health data such as biometric and lab results. It will generate personalized insights and offer nudges and recommendations related to the five key behaviors.
OpenAI Startup Fund and Thrive Global are the primary investors, with the Alice L. Walton Foundation also contributing as a strategic investor. DeCarlos Love, who happened to be initially a product leader with Google, has been appointed CEO. Love’s background includes leadership in AI and machine learning at Google, and prior roles at Apple and Athos.
Dr. Gbenga Ogedegbe from NYU Langone will serve as the health equity advisor for Thrive AI Health. The startup, apparently, has also formed research partnerships along with institutions like Stanford Medicine, Alice L. Walton School of Medicine as well as the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute at West Virginia University.
In a statement, Love mentioned that advancements in artificial intelligence provide a unique chance to make behavior change more effective and sustainable. He expressed that the Thrive AI Health Coach addresses the limitations of current AI and LLM-based solutions by offering personalized, proactive, and data-driven coaching, which could enhance health outcomes, lower healthcare costs, and have a substantial impact on chronic diseases globally.
Experts point out that preventative care relies heavily on individual behavior, self-care habits, and awareness of healthy practices. AI can assist in modifying behavioral tendencies, aiding patients in improving their self-care routines.
Thrive Global, based in New York and established in 2016, offers behavior-change software designed to enhance employee productivity and health. After its first year, the company raised $30 million in funding, followed by an $80 million Series C round in 2021. Thrive Global operates offices in various locations, including New York, San Francisco, Melbourne, Dublin, Bucharest, and Athens.
In 2022, Thrive Global collaborated with Genesys, a cloud customer-experience company, to integrate wellbeing tools into organizational workflows. In the broader behavioral health space, companies like NeuroFlow and Talkspace are also making strides. NeuroFlow recently acquired Owl to enhance its behavioral health measurement capabilities, and Talkspace launched a Behavioral Health Consortium to refer members to specialty-care providers for conditions such as alcoholism, substance use, and eating disorders.
