While much of the hype in healthcare focuses on AI and robots, a more immediate and costly problem is operating room coordination. Hospitals lose between two to four hours of OR time each day. This loss is not due to the surgeries themselves, but to the inefficiencies in between. Manual scheduling, chaotic coordination, and guesswork around room turnover are the real culprits.
On a recent episode of the TechCrunch Equity podcast, AI Editor Russell Brandom spoke with Conor McGinn, co-founder and CEO of Akara. The startup is building a system akin to air traffic control for hospitals, using thermal sensors and artificial intelligence. Akara’s work recently earned it a spot on Time magazine’s Best Inventions of 2025 list.