Hypocritical AI: The Fast Track to Becoming a Made Man in the Healthcare Mafia [Part 1 of 2]

Welcome to AI Health Uncut, a brutally honest newsletter on AI, innovation, and the state of the healthcare market. If you’d like to sign up to receive issues over email, you can do so here.

If you’re at the VIVE conference in Nashville on Tuesday, February 18, don’t miss the 3 p.m. panel with Daryl Tol of General Catalyst and Munjal Shah of Hippocratic AI. Expect plenty of spin about how Hippocratic AI will somehow “grow” into its 205.0 revenue multiple and how it’s the “first ever” AI healthcare agent.

If you’re in the audience, here are two questions worth asking Munjal (I wish I was there):

1️⃣ If the Hippocratic AI co-founders and executive team truly believe in the company’s mission, why have they offloaded millions of dollars’ worth of shares in the secondary market?

In one example, during the Series A funding round on March 18, 2024—less than a year after launch—the founders cashed out in the secondary accompanying the round. Have you ever heard of anything like that? Imagine how demoralizing that must have been for the employees. Not even 12 months in, and the founders were already sending the signal: “We have no clue how this is going to play out—but hey, money is money.” Blows my mind. 🤯

2️⃣ If your “AI agents” are so capable, then why does it still take an army of thousands—yes, thousands—of outsourced human nurses (from a company called OpenLoop) to monitor every single AI interaction?

My readers know I’ve spent the past two years investigating digital health companies—not just to learn from their mistakes, but to expose the perpetrators. The list is long: Babylon, VillageMD, Walgreens, Oak Street (this one started as a LinkedIn post but set off a firestorm in the comments), Olive AI, Teladoc, Livongo, Amwell, Summa Health, Cigna, Oscar Health, Clover Health, Optum’s Telehealth, Optum Ventures, Walmart Health, Cue Health, Truepill, Pieces Technologies, IBM Watson Health, Epic, Suki, Infermedica, Sniffle, Isabel, MayaMD, and Klick Labs.

But nothing prepared me for what I uncovered about Hippocratic AI.

For one thing, Hemant Taneja—The Godfather of the healthcare VC mafia—and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) were backing Hippocratic AI’s CEO and Co-Founder, Munjal Shah, before his trial for alleged fraud at his previous company, Health IQ, even began. You can’t make this sh*t up.

(Full disclosure: Mr. Taneja likely doesn’t appreciate my investigations into his companies, as he blocked me on LinkedIn a while ago. I’ve shed many tears over this. 🙄)

I’ve been called emotional. I’ve been dismissed as unserious. I’ve been told I’m not a journalist.

That’s exactly what the subjects of this investigation want you to believe.

All I ask is that you read carefully. Draw your own conclusions. Ask your own questions. Stay engaged. Because silence and indifference aren’t just harming healthcare—they’re the reason we’re in this mess.

But first, a few quick updates…

📍 Podcast Alert! The latest episode of Digital Health Inside Out just dropped, passionately exploring the big question: “Did VC Bros Destroy Digital Health?”—with an all-star panel bringing the heat:

• Alex Koshykov – Co-host, CEO at YODD, and COO at BeKey

• Sergei Polevikov – Co-host, Founder of WellAI, Creator of Digital Health Uncut Substack

• James Wang – General Partner at Creative Ventures

• Matthew Holt – Founder of The Health Care Blog

📍 SXSW Bound! I’m honored to be speaking at SXSW and would love to connect. If you’ll be in Dallas (March 6-7) or Austin (March 8-12)—hopefully for SXSW, the “Coachella of the Southwest” 🌵—let’s grab coffee ☕ and chat 💬. Always excited to meet new people!

📍 Health2Tech Speaker Alert! Thrilled to be speaking at the Health2Tech event on March 19, presenting “The Mass Extinction of Digital Health Startups.” Expect candid insights, sharp takes, and great discussions. Best part? It’s free—sign up now and see you there! 👋

Back to our story...

And what a story it is.

Try ChatGPT’s new Deep Research tool to pull off an investigation like this—without scraping my Substack 😉. I dare you.

I’m still physically shaking from everything tied to Hippocratic AI and Hemant Taneja. What a cesspool of dirt and sh*t. Absolutely vile.

UnitedHealth’s network looks quaint compared to the influence Hemant Taneja and his VC bros wield over healthcare. More than a few people I’ve spoken to have used the word mafia to describe it.

First off, I want to thank the brave men and women who stepped forward to share their stories about Hippocratic AI with me—current and former employees, as well as business partners. Some told me outright that if Munjal found out they spoke to me, they’d be fired on the spot. That’s the level of fear and authoritarianism that defines Hippocratic AI today.

So, I guess Munjal will have to torture me to get their names. 😉 (Unfortunately, my family knows torture all too well—we’ve been on the other side of the barricades, fighting the murderous Lukashenko regime, and have spent time in KGB jails. But that’s another story.)

And speaking of torture, it goes without saying: If someone doesn’t give me permission to share something, it stays confidential until the day I die—except maybe under CIA or U.S. Marshals’ interrogation. Not sure how I’d hold up against those guys. By the way, if you think your local SWAT team is tough, U.S. Marshals take it to another level.

But seriously, I never reveal my sources. Not to close friends. Not to my mother. And certainly not to the U.S. government.

In this case, we’re dealing with some deeply corrupt individuals. Let’s see how they respond after reading this.

I want to give a special thank you to Dave Maman, CEO of WeCall and a former business partner of Munjal Shah, who had the courage to speak openly in our interview. He didn’t hold back on his thoughts about Health IQ and Munjal Shah.

I also want to acknowledge that there are plenty of good people working at Hippocratic AI and other digital health companies—people who genuinely want to make a difference.

And let’s be clear: Not everyone is as entrenched or as ruthlessly money-hungry as Hemant Taneja, the so-called “Godfather of Healthcare.” I’ve met many VCs who truly care about customers, innovation, patients, and the medical community. And I expect to meet many more when I speak at SXSW in about four weeks.

My readers know I’ve written about Hippocratic AI before. Last time, I featured it in my Health AI Liars research because something just didn’t sit right. Now, I’ve taken my investigation to the next level—interviewing current and former employees, speaking with business partners, and diving deep into the technical side of Hippocratic’s AI agents. And let’s just say, they’re less “AI agents” and more like “supervised AI teenagers.”

Now, let’s talk about the people inside Hippocratic AI. Many of them are good people—driven by the right intentions, wanting to make a real impact in our broken healthcare system. So painting Hippocratic AI as a monolithic villain would be a mistake. The people are good. The vision is even better—because that’s exactly what healthcare needs. But the champagne and cocaine mentality of the leadership, the ‘Yes, Sir’ corporate culture, and the leadership’s deep ties to the healthcare VC mafia should be deeply concerning for the company’s clients and the medical communities it touches.

Anyway, let’s get to the point. As someone sharp pointed out to me the other day on LinkedIn (you know who you are 😉), “You’re not going to change the healthcare system with censored curse words in a comment about some failed startup bros.”

Maybe. But I’m sure as hell going to try.

Disclaimer. While I drew extensively from my interviews with current and former Hippocratic AI employees and business partners—as well as my research and analysis—the opinions expressed here are my own. That said, I hope my track record proves that my conclusions are always rooted in facts.

I have no personal or financial interest in any of the companies or individuals mentioned in this investigation, whether in their success or failure. My only goal is to inform the public about what’s happening in American healthcare—critical information that would otherwise remain hidden. (Do you see corporate media covering this? I don’t.)

PSA: If you’re being treated unfairly in any organization, if you’re being bullied, or if you notice something suspicious—whether related to product, finances, or accounting—don’t stay silent. Step forward. Every major media outlet has an anonymous tip line. If you’d like to reach out to me, you can do so via DMs on Substack, LinkedIn, or X. I am completely independent, report to no one, and treat all information with absolute confidentiality.

Be wary of HR (Human Resources). I made the mistake of trusting HR when I worked for a corporation. I assumed HR was on the employee’s side and that everything I shared was confidential. Boy, was I wrong! Then I remembered who HR really reports to—the CEO. (Remember Rabbi Glickman on Seinfeld, who spilled everything Elaine told him in confidence on his TV show? 😊)

Most importantly, if you suspect fraud or another crime happening at your company, contact the FBI immediately via the FBI Tip Line. Do not waste your time with the SEC unless you’re prepared to wait years for them to take action. The SEC is useless.

TL;DR:

1. The Healthcare VC Mafia

2. The Healthcare VC Mafia Rules

3. Is Munjal Shah a “Healthcare Fraudster” and a “Criminal”?

4. How Did Munjal Shah Escape Accountability?

5. Hippocratic AI: A New Venture or the Same Old Scam?

6. Hippocratic AI: The World’s Most Expensive AI Company—Without a Scalable (or Any) Product Yet

7. Alleged (Mis)use of Insurance and Health Data from Health IQ

8. AI Agents or BS Agents?

9. The $9/Hour AI Nurse… with a $50/Hour Human Chaperone

10. Toxic Workplaces, H1-B/O-1/F-1/OPT Slavery, and the Culture of Silence

11. Don’t Confuse Hippocratic AI’s Employees with Its Management.

12. The Mission Behind My Investigation

13. Conclusion – A Deeply Shady Tale

So let’s begin the story of Hippocratic AI and the healthcare VC mafia.