OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has agreed to acquire healthcare technology startup Torch in a deal valued at around US $100 million, as part of its broader effort to scale ChatGPT Health  a suite of AI-enabled tools designed for clinical assistance and patient support.

Torch, founded by a team with clinical and technology backgrounds, developed AI-driven solutions focused on evidence synthesis, clinical triage, personalized patient education, and structured decision support. Its tools were already in use among clinicians, care teams, and health systems seeking to accelerate workflow tasks, reduce administrative burden, and enhance care quality.

Under the acquisition, Torch’s technology, personnel, and intellectual property will be integrated into OpenAI’s health initiatives. OpenAI plans to leverage Torch’s clinical datasets, aligned safety frameworks, and health focused language models to strengthen the capabilities of ChatGPT Health particularly in areas such as symptom assessment, clinical reasoning support, treatment guidance and patient engagement.

Executives at both companies emphasised that combining Torch’s domain specific expertise with OpenAI’s large language model infrastructure can bridge the gap between generalist AI and clinical grade health assistance. The expanded team will collaborate on building models that understand clinical nuance, medical workflows and evidence based practice, while adhering to safety, privacy and regulatory considerations essential in healthcare.

Analysts see the acquisition as a sign of intensifying competition in the AI-health space, where major technology platforms aim to deliver trusted, scalable, and clinician aligned tools  from documentation automation and coding support to patient education and diagnostic workflows.