ambient-ai
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David Schummers
David Schummers is the co-founder and CEO of Apella Technology, a San Francisco-based ambient AI company transforming how hospitals run their operating rooms. Using computer vision and machine learning, Apella captures real-time surgical intelligence - automatically documenting up to 14 case events per procedure and feeding structured data back into EHR systems - reducing OR turnover times by 16% and increasing case volume by 10%. Before founding Apella in 2019, Schummers spent two decades in health technology, including a pivotal stint at Auris Health as its first commercial executive, where he helped engineer the company's $5.7 billion acquisition by Johnson & Johnson in 2019 - at the time the largest medical technology startup transaction in history. Apella raised an $80 million Series B in January 2026 led by HighlandX, bringing total funding to over $104 million.
Nikhil Buduma
Nikhil Buduma is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ambience Healthcare, an ambient AI platform that automates clinical documentation, coding, and revenue integrity for health systems. A two-time International Biology Olympiad gold medalist, MIT-educated computer scientist, and author of O'Reilly's 'Fundamentals of Deep Learning,' Buduma built Ambience from the ground up - first by running a medical practice, then by creating the AI platform his clinicians needed. The company has raised $343M total, reached a $1.25B valuation after a $243M Series C in 2025, and built a platform that supports 100+ medical specialties across outpatient, emergency, and inpatient settings.
Shiv Rao
Shiv Rao is the CEO and co-founder of Abridge, the AI platform transforming clinical conversations into structured medical documentation. A practicing cardiologist at UPMC and history-major-turned-physician, Rao founded Abridge in 2018 out of personal frustration with nightly dictation sessions. The company, now valued at $5.3 billion after raising $300M in Series E in 2025, deploys across 150+ U.S. health systems including Mayo Clinic, Duke Health, and Johns Hopkins, supports 28 languages and 55 medical specialties, and is used by over 50,000 clinicians. Rao is equal parts cardiologist, technologist, and artist — a former DJ, skateboarder, and avant-garde music producer whose unconventional path runs straight through the operating room.