By some estimates, the U.S. healthcare system squanders nearly $1 trillion annually on administrative overhead: paperwork, prior authorizations, chart reviews, and coordination between fractured systems. For clinicians and case managers already on the brink of burnout, the burden is simply unsustainable.
Autonomize AI, an Austin-based startup wants to fix healthcare from the inside out by empowering people with accountable, human-centered AI.
This week, Autonomize closed a $28 million Series A round, led by Valtruis, The Cigna Group Ventures, and Tau Ventures, with participation from Asset Management Ventures, ATX Venture Partners, and Capital Factory. The raise brings the company’s total capital to $32 million.
“The current healthcare system is no longer suited for the way care is delivered today,” said CEO Ganesh Padmanabhan in the company’s funding announcement. “Automation alone is not the answer for healthcare, but accountable, human-centered AI augmentation is.”
Co-founder Kris Nair echoed the sentiment on LinkedIn: “Healthcare generates vast amounts of data, but it remains underutilized at the point of care. Our Agentic AI platform is designed to change that.”
Investors agree. “Healthcare operators are ready, but they need partners who understand real workflows and can deliver results at scale,” said Mike Spadafore, Managing Director at Valtruis. “Autonomize AI gets that.”
Building a Copilot for Healthcare
Founded in 2022 by Ganesh Padmanabhan and Kris Nair, the duo envisioned a multi-agent orchestration platform built explicitly for the complexity, and regulation of healthcare delivery.
Their Pre-trained AI agents, dubbed “Copilots,” can handle everything from medical chart review and benefits verification to clinical research and care management. And these aren’t generic GPT-based chatbots. “A complex workflow like care management or prior authorization is actually multiple sub-workflows,” CEO Padmanabhan explained to Axios. “A benefit check is one example: where users are looking at patient information across multiple documents.”
The approach is already showing results with Autonomize’s clients including Fortune 100 health plans, top 20 pharmaceutical companies, and leading life sciences organizations. Their platform is processing over 100,000 automated care plans monthly, helping clinicians redirect time to patient care rather than paperwork.
“The Copilot’s ability to extract meaning from unstructured clinical documents and convert that into actionable insights at scale is truly impressive,” said the health plan’s VP of Technology Operations. “It’s like unlocking hidden value in every request.”
Why It Matters – It Involves Lives
The stakes are immense. Prior authorizations can delay care. Fragmented chart reviews can introduce clinical errors. Paper-based workflows lead to burned-out staff and overwhelmed systems. Autonomize AI’s platform wants to address these pain points with rigor, making sure HIPAA and SOC II-compliance, with explainability and audit-readiness are baked in.
This attention to compliance and transparency makes Autonomize particularly well-suited for enterprise adoption in a space where most AI startups still struggle to move past pilots.
Craig Cimini, Head of Cigna Group Ventures says: “Autonomize AI’s vision for augmenting, not replacing, the people who power healthcare is one we share. We see tremendous potential in the company’s platform to drive scalable, responsible innovation in healthcare operations.”
With fresh funding in hand, Autonomize plans to scale deployments across payers, providers, and life sciences organizations. Their roadmap includes expanding their Copilot library, deepening integrations with EHR systems, and continuing to drive measurable outcomes for customers.
Despite a crowded AI-in-healthcare field, the Autonomize platform is already showing traction in segments where most competitors falter: regulated workflows, complex data harmonization, and rapid time-to-value.
The end goal for Autonomize AI is to speed up care for patients and help save lives. As Padmanabhan summed it up: “Most of all, it’s about getting people the care they need, faster and with less friction.”
