Ambience CEO Nikhil Buduma on AI in Clinical Workflows

March 5, 2026
A16z
Ambience CEO Nikhil Buduma on AI in Clinical Workflows

Ever wonder how AI might finally be changing healthcare for good? Well, Nikhil Buduma, CEO of Ambience Healthcare, dives into this with Julie Yoo from a16z. He shares that their journey started by running a real medical practice first — because understanding doctors’ needs isn’t just theory. According to Nikhil, building AI tools that doctors actually want to use is all about high adoption — especially at big academic centers. And here's where it gets interesting — AI capabilities are changing so fast, yet successful products are still emerging. Content+a16zpodcast@a16z.com highlights that CFOs are finally seeing real ROI, making AI a smarter investment now. Plus, Nikhil suggests that this could be the pivotal moment to reimagine the outdated EHR systems we’ve been stuck with. So what does this mean for your healthcare? The future’s not just coming — it’s already here, reshaping how clinicians work and how patients get care.

a16z general partner Julie Yoo talks with Nikhil Buduma, CEO and cofounder of Ambience Healthcare, to discuss how AI is transforming clinical workflows. They cover the early days of deep learning, why Ambience started by running a medical practice before building a platform company, and what it takes to achieve high clinician adoption rates at major academic medical centers. They also dig into the challenge of building products when AI capabilities change every few months, the real ROI that's finally converting CFOs, and why this might be the moment to reimagine the legacy EHR stack.

 

Resources:

Follow Nikhil Buduma on X: https://twitter.com/nkbuduma

Follow Julie Yoo on X: https://twitter.com/julesyoo

 

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Audio Transcript

a16z general partner Julie Yoo talks with Nikhil Buduma, CEO and cofounder of Ambience Healthcare, to discuss how AI is transforming clinical workflows. They cover the early days of deep learning, why Ambience started by running a medical practice before building a platform company, and what it takes to achieve high clinician adoption rates at major academic medical centers. They also dig into the challenge of building products when AI capabilities change every few months, the real ROI that's finally converting CFOs, and why this might be the moment to reimagine the legacy EHR stack.

 

Resources:

Follow Nikhil Buduma on X: https://twitter.com/nkbuduma

Follow Julie Yoo on X: https://twitter.com/julesyoo

 

Stay Updated:

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends!

Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z

Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z

Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX

Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711

Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures

Stay Updated:

Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube

Find a16z on X

Find a16z on LinkedIn

Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify

Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts

Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg

 

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.


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