Health Moonshots in the Age of Superintelligence
By Unity Stoakes
Co-founder, StartUp Health
The age of superintelligence has arrived, reshaping healthcare at a pace that even most futurists underestimated until recently. As AI accelerates discovery, democratizes expertise, streamlines administrative tasks, and rewrites how care is delivered, the once-distant vision of achieving global health moonshots is shifting from audacious dream to attainable reality. The question now is how we can best guide this transformation, and level-up our creative use of these powerful tools with greater purpose and speed – the time is now to seize this moment for the benefit of billions.
For more than a decade, we’ve spoken about a future we believed was coming – a future where transformational technologies unlock exponential progress; where breakthroughs that once felt impossible become inevitable; and where health moonshots move from bold aspiration to practical reality.
That future is no longer approaching.
It has arrived.
We have entered the age of superintelligence, a moment when AI-powered science and technology are reshaping discovery, accelerating innovation, and expanding access to care in ways our health system has never experienced. And speaking personally – as someone who has spent my career walking alongside thousands of technology founders – I have never seen momentum like this. It feels different. It’s a new era of opportunity.
The shift is profound.
Not long ago, mapping a protein or designing a drug candidate required armies of scientists and years of experimentation. Today:
DeepMind’s AlphaFold 3 is accurately modeling proteins and nucleic acids and molecular interactions – ushering in a new foundation for biology and discoveries.
Isomorphic Labs (Google’s AI drug discovery company) has already signed multi-billion-dollar partnerships with Novartis and Eli Lilly to co-develop AI-designed medicines.
Autonomous “self-driving” labs now run experiments 24/7, compressing months of R&D into days.
Multimodal medical AI models can read imaging, labs, genomics, and patient notes simultaneously – often matching or surpassing specialist-level performance in triage, dermatology, ophthalmology, and radiology.
And for the first time, individuals everywhere are gaining free access to medical-grade guidance and mental health support that would have been inaccessible or unaffordable a decade ago. My personal dream of having a million doctors in your pocket is now here.
Capabilities once limited to elite institutions or decades of sequential research are now becoming available to anyone with a connected device.
This is not incremental improvement.
It is a magic leap.
And a new generation of founders is leaping with it – building AI-first platforms, vibe coding useful tools in minutes, and ultimately redesigning how we diagnose, treat, prevent, and live healthier lives. We now exist in a post-ChatGPT world, where every product, service, workflow, and care model designed before 2022 is being reinvented. From the back office to the bedside to the home, the entire system is undergoing transformation.
This is the moment health moonshots become achievable.
A moment when billions of people can gain access to medical advice.
A moment when the marginal cost of life-changing services approaches zero.
A moment when discoveries that once took decades can materialize in months, or even hours.
A moment when the companies emerging from StartUp Health are not merely improving the system – they are gaining new leverage to reinvent it.
You can already feel this momentum in the leaders shaping what comes next.
StartUp Health portfolio company Virta Health under CEO Sami Inkinen is proving how AI-powered, continuous care models can reverse chronic disease at scale. And at StartUp Health’s Apollo House, our summit during JPM Week in January, we’ll explore these breakthroughs – and the responsibilities they usher in – with leaders such as Vinod Khosla, who long ago predicted that the role of the doctor would be fundamentally redefined. Those predictions are unfolding in real time.
Our gathering – co-hosted with SVB and J&J, and supported by the California Health Care Foundation, Hopelab, Cooley, Morgan Lewis, Clearwater, and 7wire Ventures – will bring together hundreds of bold founders, funders, and thinkers to confront a critical question:
If AI can decode biology, design drugs, and run entire labs autonomously, why shouldn’t the world’s leading models compete to cure Alzheimer’s, diabetes, cancers, or the chronic illnesses affecting billions?
The challenge is no longer technological possibility.
It is human intention.
The question is not whether AI will transform healthcare.
The question is WHEN we will channel more of that ‘COMPUTE’ and legions of brilliant AI researchers, to direct more of AI’s growing power toward universal access, better outcomes, and meaningful progress for all. I believe that time is now. We simply can’t wait another day for some of these cures and discoveries when we know the abilities are within our sights.
The time is now to set new benchmarks for ‘Superintelligence.’ The time is now to get the world’s best and brightest aligned by mission and purpose. The time is now to inspire healthy competition among the world’s leading technology powerhouses to solve humanity’s most urgent health moonshots.
This is why we are convening the world’s leading Health Transformers during JPM Week – to accelerate the translation of discovery into real-world impact. To strengthen the community driving this work. To set our ambitions higher and push harder toward solutions that put superintelligence in the service of humanity.
If you are a leader, innovator, policymaker, investor, or patient who believes we can deliver more care to more people at radically better ‘value’ (to use a horrible industry term), now is the time to join this mission. There has never been a more urgent or meaningful moment to shape the future of health.
The age of superintelligence is here.
The opportunity to transform human potential has never been greater.
Let’s make this next few years when health moonshots become reality – for everyone.
Join Us at Apollo House During JPM Week
Apollo House is StartUp Health’s summit for visionaries who are building the future of health in the age of superintelligence. During JPM Week in SF, we will bring together founders, investors, researchers, policymakers, and partners who share a commitment to solving the world’s biggest health challenges.
If you believe in the power of collaboration, community, and exponential innovation, we invite you to be part of this important conversation and help accelerate progress for humanity.
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Health Moonshot Plans for Startups & Scaleups: If you're a founder or CEO building a digital health, biotech, or life sciences company, our Health Moonshot Communities are designed for collaboration, coaching, and strategic growth at every stage. Our communities include: Alzheimer’s & Brain Health, Cardiometabolic & T1D, Food as Medicine, Mental & Behavorial Health, and more. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. Learn more and apply today.
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Published: Dec 5, 2025
Written by Unity Stoakes
