I Shut Down My Bootstrapped Health AI Startup After 7 Years (glassboxmedicine.com)

Cydoc, a health AI startup founded by an MD/PhD student, has officially shut down after seven years of development. Despite achieving significant validation milestones, such as acquiring paying customers, earning patents, and demonstrating clinical value—saving an average of 10 minutes per patient visit—the founder learned that deploying health AI is only 20% of the challenge. The remaining 80% involves hurdles like workflow integration, building a sales infrastructure, and creating sustainable business models, where most health AI companies, including Cydoc, falter. Key lessons from the founder's journey highlight the critical importance of customer discovery. Initially targeting medical students, the approach shifted toward private practices, but delays in engaging potential customers led to wasted resources and missed opportunities. The founder emphasizes that extensive customer interviews are crucial to understanding the actual needs of the market rather than assuming knowledge based on personal experience. This cautionary tale underscores the need for health tech startups to prioritize sustainable business practices and deep customer understanding to navigate the complexities of the healthcare landscape successfully.