AI Insiders: Healthcare & Biotech
If you’re already in town for the 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference (Jan 12–15, 2026), this is your off-agenda room to talk about how AI is really changing discovery, development, longevity and care.
AI Insiders: Healthcare & Biotech is curated salon during J.P. Morgan Healthcare Week in San Francisco for the people actually building this future: Biotech founders, pharma and biotech leaders, hospital innovators, regulators, and the investors backing them.
Event Schedule
3:30 PM – Check-In + Networking
4:00 PM – Welcome Words
Dan Setterby, Leading Verizon’s Edge and AI Innovation Lab
Merve Isler, Founder & CEO at Marvelous, Builder of AI Insiders
4:10 PM – Keynote
What’s Actually Working in AI for Health & Biotech in 2026 (and what’s still fantasy)
Speaker: Prof Ronjon Nag, (Stanford School of Medicine) Serial inventor, investor, winner of the $1M Verizon Powerful Answers Award.
4:30 PM – 5 Startups Defining the Future of AI in Healthcare & Biotech
Cosmica AI, David Furman, Founder
Icarus Therapeutics, Nate Hughes, Jack Owens, Founders
Oxford Drug Design, Alan Roth, CEO
Aikium, Eswar Iyer, Co-Founder
NeuroAge Therapeutics, Christin Glorioso, Founder
Audience vote: Most Deployable, Most Investable, Most Game-Changing
5:00 – Panel Discussion
How AI Is (Finally) Personalizing Care in the Next 12–24 Months
Panelists: Max Marchione (Superpower), Dr. Martin Kawalski (Stanford University), Dr Jonathan Mates (Kaiser Permanente), Ayah Hamdan (Plug & Play)
5:30 – Audience Q&A
Curated Q&A (questions collected via QR)
5:45 PM – Onwards: Networking Reception + Live Experience
Live set by Scharliina - a short, intentional set to open the room and anchor the networking energy. Structured circles for the first 20 minutes: Clinical Adoption + Biotech Discovery + Investors/Partnerships
Then open networking
Who this is for
We’re curating a cross-section of decision-makers who can actually move the field forward:
Biotech, and digital health founders & product leaders
Pharma & biotech executives in R&D, BD, and innovation
Hospital & health system leaders (CMIOs, CTOs, innovation teams)
Investors focused on health, life sciences, AI, and infrastructure
Regulators, payers & policy makers shaping the rules of the game
Researchers & engineers building AI models, platforms, and tools
Journalists and storytellers tracking the next wave of healthcare transformation
If your work lives at the intersection of biology, data, and decision-making, this room is for you.
Speaker highlights
Dr. Mates is a radiology + health tech leader with 20+ years in clinical care, imaging informatics, and operations. He’s led radiology departments, built workflow-changing radiology applications, and served as Medical Director for multiple health tech startups. He’s currently a practicing radiologist and Regional Radiology Lead for AI at Kaiser Permanente Northern California.
Prof. Dr. Ronjon Nag (Stanford) is a serial inventor-entrepreneur at the intersection of AI and biology. His companies have been acquired by Apple, BlackBerry, and Motorola, and he won the $1M Verizon Powerful Answers Award.
Dr. Martin Kawalski (Stanford) is an MD/PhD sleep medicine researcher studying how consumer wearables measure sleep disruption’s impact on aging, and how AI can improve patient education and engagement.
Max Marchione (Superpower), Co-founder and CEO, is building a new healthcare system focused on preventing disease and enhancing human capability.
Ayah Hamdan (Plug & Play) is a healthtech investor and operator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She leads Health at Plug and Play Tech Center as a Director & Investor, backing and partnering with digital health startups improving clinical practice, analytics, and the patient journey. Previously, she founded Fatima Connect (Harvard Innovation Labs) and held healthcare operations and implementation roles at Carbon Health, with earlier research and health equity work across UCSF, Kaiser Permanente, and the SF Department of Public Health.
Dan Setterby (Verizon) leads Engineering, Consulting, and Applied Research at Verizon’s San Francisco Innovation Center and 5G Labs. With ~20 years across innovation management, tech strategy, product and business development, and digital transformation, he runs Verizon’s 50,000 sq ft “Window into Innovation,” showcasing demos and POCs across the Verizon ecosystem. His team hosts 250+ innovation workshops, executive briefings, ideation sessions, and STEM community events annually.
What to expect
This is not a mega-conference. It’s a carefully designed evening to go deep with the right people.
A candid fireside conversation with leaders at the edge of AI-driven health
Curated startup and Biotech showcases with live feedback from investors and strategics
Small-group dinner invite around specific themes (drug discovery, hospital AI, devices, trials, etc.) - VIP only
High-trust networking with a vetted guest list, all in one room a short walk or drive from the main JPM action
You’ll leave with:
New collaborators and dealflow
A clearer view of what’s actually working in AI-powered healthcare today
Concrete ideas you can take back to your lab, clinic, portfolio, or roadmap
Thanks to our event sponsor: Verizon Innovation Lab
If you’d like to explore a sponsorship & partnership during JPM Week: https://aiinsiders.us/partnerships
or email: [email protected]
Tell us who you are, what you’re working on, and what kind of connections would make this evening a win for you.
About AI Insiders
AI Insiders is a Reuters-covered, a curated series of curated gatherings for AI founders, investors, and industry leaders. We design high-trust rooms around specific verticals like media, cybersecurity, fintech, and healthcare, combining intimate events, startup showcases, and partnerships with leading ecosystems in San Francisco and beyond. Our mission is to turn “AI hype” into real collaborations, pilots, and deals.