RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Robbie Allen, one of the Triangle’s earliest thought leaders in artificial intelligence, is returning to his AI roots with a new company. And he’s already raised $3 million from investors who are well aware of his two-decade-long streak of success as a serial entrepreneur.

This time, his target is health care, not robotic sports writing or scientific exploration. And the founder of Automated Insights (now widely used by The Associated Press; he sold it for $80 million in 2015) says he is swinging for the fences.

“It’s a big swing, but I’m confident that with the right team and resources, we can make a real impact in healthcare,” Allen tells WRAL TechWire. Investors include IDEA Fund Partners, Studio VC, Alumni Ventures, Tweener Fund (which Allen helped founder Scot Wingo operate), AI Operator’s Fund, and Operator.VC. The backers “share our vision of leveraging AI to improve healthcare outcomes for patients,” Allen says.

“Our vision has been to create a healthcare experience that includes the large number of innovations occurring in preventative medicine,” he explains. “With the rapid increase in the number of diagnostics and testings as well as their decreasing cost, there is an opportunity to help people gain more control over their future health by providing analysis that goes way beyond what you get out of primary care today.”

The new company is called Bionic Health. His partner is Dr. Jared Pelo, a physician who has his own record as an entrepreneur, having built and sold iScribed, which focused on AI-enhanced medical documentation. It’s already hiring to fill a number of roles, Allen says.

They are staffing up and have already opened an AI-driven health clinic, relying in part on the rapidly emerging field as popularized by OpenAI’s chatGPT to deliver personalized healthcare plans.

A sample of Bionic Health information provided to users.

$250 a month membership

Highlights of the membership plan the company is offering:

  • Meet with board-certified physician
  • Unlimited video, voice, text messaging
  • Individualized treatment plan
  • Unlimited Health coaching and support
  • Advanced diagnostic testing for hormones and genetics.

A waiting list already

How’s demand? There’s already a waiting list to sign up, Allen says.

The clinic opened earlier this month at the EmergeOrtho facility near Durham’s Streets at Southpoint mall. Company headquarters are located at The Frontier in RTP.

Here’s how Allen explains the mission:

“The Bionic Health clinic is revolutionizing the way patients approach their health and wellness by using state-of-the-art medical research. Through in-depth analysis of individual genomics, body composition, biomarkers, wearable data, and other crucial factors, each patient receives a highly personalized plan that enables them to achieve their optimal health and longevity.”

In the announcement, Pelo said Bionic Health is on a mission of “reimagining healthcare in the digital age. We believe that AI and machine learning have the power to unlock new insights and approaches to care that were previously unimaginable. By harnessing the latest technology and medical science, we can help people live longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives.”