Advancing AI, providing care and developing new therapies

These entrepreneurs and researchers are tackling some of the biggest challenges in healthcare, from developing new medicines to building new devices to improving access to healthcare.

By Katie Jennings, Alex Knapp and Genevieve Bookwalter

NNot all cancers develop the same way, so treatment may depend on different factors. However, these details are not always easy for doctors to find. Input Anirudh Joshi and his company Valar Labs. It uses AI to analyze an image of a tumor for patients with bladder cancer, providing data that doctors can use to determine the best way forward. “AI will completely transform healthcare and create an oversupply,” he says. “And that applies to all areas, not just what we do.”

To date, 20 hospitals across the country are using Valar Labs’ software. Next, the company is training its models to analyze other types of cancer, such as pancreatic cancer and lymphoma. To that end, the company has raised $26 million from venture capitalists so far, and Joshi, 29, says Valar Labs could be “the next billion-dollar company in cancer.”

Joshi, along with his co-founders Damir Vrabac28, and Viswesh Krishna23, are just a few of the rising stars on this year’s 30 Under 30 Healthcare list who are committed to solving some of healthcare’s biggest challenges, from developing new drugs to building new devices to improving access to healthcare . For more than a decade, Forbes has highlighted young entrepreneurs and researchers through nominations from the public. To be considered for this year’s list, all candidates had to be under 30 years of age as of December 31, 2024 and had never previously been included on a 30 under 30 list for North America, Asia or Europe.

The candidates were evaluated by a jury Jim BreyerFounder of Breyer Capital; Kate HavilandCEO of Blueprint Medicines; Megan Mahoneya physician and professor at the University of California, San Francisco; And Stephanie StrongCo-founder and CEO of Boulder Care.

Valar Labs isn’t the only company using AI to detect diseases. With his company Dannce.ai, Rob Baldoni25, uses deep learning to analyze patient movements to help assess patients with neurological diseases like Parikinson’s. Kanishka RaoThe 29-year-old uses AI with his company Carenostics to identify high-risk patients with chronic diseases. And Akshaya Annapragada27, invented ARTEMIS, an AI system that has identified hundreds of new genomic features of various cancers.

Other list makers use software innovations to make everyday life easier for caregivers. There are Ricky Pati26 and Niko Fotopoulos25, whose company Sparx makes it easier for doctors to participate in value-based care programs. Also, Autumn-Kyoko Cushman28, and Leanna Haddad28, co-founder of ShiftRx, a startup that helps pharmacy shift workers apply for and get hired for short-term contract work.

But software isn’t the only area of ​​healthcare innovation – several entrepreneurs on the list are developing new hardware to help patients and caregivers. For example, Nadia Ansari21, and Kamran Ansari19, co-founder of FluxWear, which developed a wearable cap that serves as a neuromodulation device. Tamara Chayo25, founded MEDU Protection, which has developed Level 4 hospital gowns that can be reused multiple times instead of being thrown away after being worn once. Then there is Vishnu Sunil29 and Apoorva Katragadda29, whose company EmerStat developed a device that helps reduce bleeding in trauma patients.

These are just a few of the incredible finalists on this year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 Healthcare list. Be sure to check out each and every other category of 30 Under 30 2025.

This year’s list was edited by Katie Jennings, Genevieve Bookwalter and Alex Knapp. For a link to our full health list, Click hereand for full insurance coverage for those under 30, Click here.

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