AI 411: September 2026

Welcome back to AI 411, a monthly roundup of tech announcements from across the healthcare industry.

This was a busy month for AI, with big health tech players like Abridge, Athenahealth, Amazon Pharmacy, and Heidi making the news. Here’s your AI breakdown for September. Happy fall!

Abridge. Abridge, which is known for its AI scribe, announced on Sept. 22 that the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) selected its ambient technology for a $775 million enterprise contract. This means the VA’s 75 medical centers will have access to Abridge’s system.

Amazon Pharmacy. Solv, whose platform connects patients to in-person and online appointments, shared on Sept. 1 that Amazon Pharmacy will be integrated into its system. Under this partnership, patients who live in areas Amazon serves will be able to see an option to select Amazon’s prescription delivery while booking their appointment. The idea is that the prescription process can begin quickly and patients can see when their medications will arrive.

Athenahealth. The company known for its electronic medical records tech released new capabilities for its AI platform, athenaOne, on Sept. 24. It’s designed to help providers achieve better value-based care and to analyze population data that gives insights into hospital performance, the company said in a press release.

Heidi. Heidi, which offers an ambient scribe and other AI tools, announced on Sept. 22 it has closed a $100 million Series C funding round led by investment firm Blackbird and a $240 million growth investment led by General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund. The $340 million fundraise puts the company’s valuation at $900 million, according to a release.

Rush University System for Health. Chicago-based Rush University System for Health and Nference—a health tech company that uses AI for biomedical discovery (i.e., ways to make care better for patients through medications or other treatments)—announced a long-term partnership on Sept. 2 to create a clinical analytics platform meant to help Rush researchers with their research. Specifically, Nference said in a release it will help Rush take “de-identified structured and unstructured clinical information” and turn it into “curated datasets for observational studies and prospective research.”