At this year’s HLTH conference in Las Vegas, the air buzzed with the energy of a healthcare revolution—powered by AI. The event, often called the "Dreamforce of healthcare" for its glitzy scale and high-stakes networking, was saturated with AI. Startups like Jorie AI and Suki showcased AI agents designed to streamline clinical workflows, while tech giants Samsung and Johnson & Johnson demonstrated their latest health tech integrations. Nearly every company on the show floor had an AI angle, from voice-powered assistants to generative tools promising to transform patient care and administrative efficiency. The conference’s "AI Zone" featured an "AI Theater" for startup pitches, reinforcing how deeply AI had permeated the event. Yet beneath the flashy booths and free popsicles offered for chatting with AI agents, a growing unease simmered. Attendees, including executives from major health systems, voiced frustration over the homogeneity of pitches. “Everyone is framing themselves as the most generic, enterprise-wide agentic AI solution. It makes me want to vomit,” said one anonymous executive. “I need to know what your company actually delivers, today, in the real world.” This fatigue reflects broader concerns in healthcare venture capital. While digital health startups raised $6.4 billion in the first half of 2025—with 62% going to AI ventures—the market is showing signs of saturation. Investors are pouring money into startups promising operational savings, but skepticism lingers over whether these tools will deliver real-world impact at scale. The threat from Big Tech looms large. OpenAI’s Nate Gross made his debut at HLTH’s main stage, signaling the AI giant’s growing ambitions in healthcare. Though OpenAI’s healthcare initiatives are still nascent, its massive user base—800 million weekly active users on ChatGPT—raises concerns among founders. “In my portfolio, people view OpenAI and Anthropic much more as a threat than Amazon or Microsoft ever were,” said Blake Wu of NEA. “They’ve moved faster and into more categories.” Meanwhile, established players like Epic, which was absent from the show floor, are preparing to enter the fray with their own AI tools, including an AI scribe to compete with Abridge. This intensifies the pressure on startups, many of which are now racing to secure market share before being outpaced. Despite the hype, some progress is real. Biotech and pharma companies like GSK, Novartis, and City of Hope highlighted how AI is accelerating drug discovery and clinical trial recruitment. Women’s health startups, such as Midi Health, gained visibility with high-profile ad campaigns, signaling a shift in investor and industry attention. Equally important, a growing number of organizations are pushing for responsible AI. Spring Health introduced a new benchmark to test how mental health chatbots handle crisis inputs, while the American Heart Association launched an AI assessment lab with Dandelion Health to validate cardiovascular prediction models. “Smart money is no longer just about speed,” said Milad Alucozai of Pamir Ventures. “It’s about building responsibly.” As the conference closed, the message was clear: AI in healthcare is here to stay. But the line between genuine innovation and overhyped promise is getting harder to see. The real test isn’t just who can build the most advanced model—but who can deliver safe, effective, and trusted solutions in a high-stakes environment.