AI Wins AGA’s Shark Tank Competition

The judges were swayed by Arithmedics’ practical solution to a widespread problem. “There is for sure a need in terms of inaccurate billing and billing codes that are wrong. There’s lost revenue for physicians around that. So I think we were really focused from a judging standpoint on the fact that their solution was filling truly an unmet need,” said judge Andrea Vossler, a managing director of Varia Ventures, which has partnered with AGA to launch and manage the GI Opportunity Fund, an AGA-member venture fund.

“We were really focused on how to assist physicians in terms of supporting their practices, and really changing what you’re doing. I think AI has the ability to do that, so we liked that about the company,” she added.

The company is an example of how AI is poised to alter healthcare, according to Ms. Vossler. “I think it’s massive. I think we’re at the very beginning of its impact on healthcare,” she said.

Another judge had a similar view. “They won because there is a screaming need to fix billing. So, it’s well known that lots of money is indeed lost in billing practices, which are stressful for office personnel and stressful for physicians. They can fulfill a long-standing need, and we thought that that was the success story,” said Christopher Gostout, MD, emeritus professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Dr. Gostout offered advice for gastroenterologists and other physicians interested in starting tech companies. It’s imperative to be a realist, he said. “Is there a real market for it, or [is it just] a niche market? Does your device have legs — can it expand and can evolve into other [spin-off] products? These are things you need to think about because one-offs or single-trick ponies are pretty hard to move along now,” said Dr. Gostout.

He recommended that entrepreneurs apply for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants. “I think it’s a great opportunity to bring in money and get the ball rolling.”

Finally, he advised entrepreneurs to be thoughtful about their advisory groups. Founders may be tempted to find the highest profile names they can to give the business gravitas, but those big names may not have the best knowledge base to understand the problems that the technology is meant to address. “I’ve seen businesses fail because they went for marquee names that really were not helpful, and they didn’t do their due diligence in seeking out really useful value. You don’t need a lot of advisers, just a couple of really good ones,” said Dr. Gostout.

The summit was sponsored by the AGA Center for GI Innovation and Technology.

Dr. Gostout has founded and advises AdaptivEndo and Lean Medical. He is a consultant to Boston Scientific. Dr. Dhanasekaran has no financial disclosures. Ms. Vossler is an employee of Varia Ventures, which is an investment partner to AGA. Dr. Elango is an employee of Arithmedics.