OpenAI has acquired health technology startup Torch in a strategic move to accelerate its push into digital healthcare and strengthen the infrastructure behind its newly launched ChatGPT Health service.
The acquisition brings Torch’s engineering team and proprietary health data technology into OpenAI, giving the artificial intelligence company direct access to tools designed to consolidate fragmented medical records from multiple sources into a single, usable system.
With ChatGPT Health now live, OpenAI is positioning itself to play a deeper role in how individuals store, access, and understand personal health information. The integration of Torch’s technology is expected to improve how the platform organises data from hospitals, clinics, laboratories, wearable devices, and wellness applications.
Brandspur Brand News understands that the deal, estimated by industry sources to be worth between $60 million and $100 million in equity, was structured primarily as a talent and technology acquisition, allowing OpenAI to quickly absorb Torch’s capabilities rather than build similar systems from scratch.
Torch was founded by former executives of Forward Health, a once high-profile automated care startup that shut down in late 2024 after raising nearly $400 million. Following Forward’s collapse, the team regrouped to build Torch with a focus on creating what they described as a long-term memory layer for artificial intelligence in healthcare.
The startup’s core product was designed to unify scattered medical information into a single context engine, enabling AI systems to understand patient history in a continuous, meaningful way. That technology now forms a critical layer within ChatGPT Health.
OpenAI has stressed that ChatGPT Health is designed to support users, not replace healthcare professionals. The platform allows individuals to organise their medical information, prepare for doctor appointments, and better understand health records, while keeping diagnosis and treatment decisions with licensed practitioners.
To address privacy and safety concerns, OpenAI said more than 260 medical professionals were consulted in building safeguards for the health platform, ensuring responses are delivered responsibly and within strict ethical boundaries.
The acquisition highlights OpenAI’s growing interest in applying artificial intelligence to sensitive, real-world sectors such as healthcare, where data complexity, privacy, and trust are critical. By bringing Torch in-house, OpenAI is aiming to solve one of digital health’s biggest challenges: making fragmented patient data coherent and useful without compromising security.
The move also signals intensifying competition in AI-driven health services, as technology firms race to build platforms that can support personal health management at scale.
While OpenAI has not officially disclosed financial details of the deal, the acquisition underscores its willingness to invest heavily in infrastructure that supports long-term expansion beyond consumer chatbots and into regulated industries.
As ChatGPT Health continues to roll out, the Torch acquisition is expected to play a central role in shaping how users interact with their medical information through artificial intelligence.
