Thoughtful AI was founded in 2020 to automate the payment process for companies across industries, including manufacturing, law, real estate, etc. But two years later, the startup realized its technology was delivering the best value to customers in one industry more than any other: healthcare.
“We weren't seeing any ROI outside of the healthcare space,” said Thoughtful AI co-founder and CEO Alex Zekov. “These customers were expanding and they needed help. When we looked at the data, it was very clear that that was where our product-market fit was, and everything else was a distraction.”
The startup, formerly known as Thoughtful Automation, has cut off non-healthcare customers and now sells only to mid-sized healthcare companies that offer services like behavioral health and dental care.
Now, the company has raised new funding to bring its new AI agents to more medical clinics across the United States.
The Austin, Texas-based startup raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Drive Capital, with participation from TriplePoint Capital.
Thoughtful AI also unveiled its first three AI agents, CAM, EVA and PHIL, which process medical claims, verify patient insurance coverage and record payments.
Thoughtful AI isn't the only startup using AI to tackle revenue cycle management. The company is competing with better-funded companies like Commure, a $6 billion startup that entered RCM by merging with Athelas in October, and up-and-coming companies like Codametrix, which raised $40 million in Series B funding in March.
But while many startups are leveraging AI to automate key parts of these processes, Thoughtful AI says its agents can run these workflows 100% autonomously.
According to Zekhov, these agents help medical clinics reduce the cost of hiring new employees and increase the efficiency of existing employees, delivering savings of an average of five to six times what clients pay for Thoughtful AI's solution.
The startup says it currently has 30 to 40 clients, some of which operate hundreds of clinics across the country.
Thoughtful AI's original vision is playing out across industries: AI agents are exploding in popularity, with startups pouring money into agents that automate business functions like customer support and software development, and tech giants like Google pouring money into their own AI agent projects.
Thoughtful AI has raised $40 million to date, according to Zekov, including a $5 million seed round in September 2021 also led by Drive Capital, an unannounced $10 million seed extension and an additional $5 million in debt funding. The $20 million Series A is made up of both equity and debt, he said.
Zekov said the company plans to double down on hiring with the new funding, and is looking for engineers not only in the U.S. but also in Brazil and Romania, two of the biggest sources of Python talent.
He said the startup wants to focus some of the funding on shortening the time it takes for customers to get their agents up and running: Currently, Thoughtful AI can deploy an AI agent customized to a customer's needs within 90 days, but Zekov wants to cut that time to a week.
Zekov said Thoughtful AI aims to hit $10 million in annual recurring revenue by the end of the summer, and the company plans to raise Series B funding in early 2025.
Zekhoff said the company's goal is to have 100 employees in the U.S. and achieve $100 million in annual recurring revenue within the next two years or so.
