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.