OpenAI is moving fast in healthcare. Just days after launching ChatGPT Health, a platform designed to help patients and doctors navigate complex medical information, the Sam Altman-led company acquired health tech startup Torch on Monday.

The financial terms weren't officially disclosed, but reports vary considerably. CNBC pegged the deal at roughly $60 million, while The Information reported OpenAI paid $100 million worth of equity. OpenAI hasn't commented on the acquisition price.

Building a Medical Memory for AI

So what exactly did OpenAI buy? Torch was building what its CEO Ilya Abyzov called "a unified medical memory for AI." The vision: pull together every bit of data about you from hospitals, labs, wearables, and consumer testing companies into one place that AI systems can actually use.

"It's a daunting responsibility. And we wouldn't have taken it on if we didn't think that OAI [OpenAI] cared as much as we do about privacy, safety, collaboration with physicians, and building something at an extremely high level of craft and consumer polish," Abyzov wrote on X.

Abyzov has healthcare startup experience, having previously co-founded Forward, which ran patient visits through tech-enabled "CarePods." That venture shut down abruptly in 2024.

Torch's four-person team will join OpenAI as part of the deal. Despite the small headcount, the price tag suggests OpenAI sees significant value in the technology and talent.

The acquisition fits into OpenAI's broader healthcare push. The company hired Google's Albert Lee last month to lead corporate development and has been announcing enterprise-grade healthcare products. Initial partners include major health systems like HCA Healthcare, signaling OpenAI's serious ambitions in the medical space.