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Venture capital firm General Catalyst announced the formation of a new company, Percepta, which will deploy researchers, engineers and product managers directly within various enterprises, including healthcare, to assist with business transformation using AI.
"Percepta has built differentiated playbooks for how to execute AI transformation of healthcare, manufacturing, financial services and government," the venture capital firm said in a statement.
"As Percepta grows over the next few years, we expect the team to become a leading transformation partner for companies and governments around the world."
The new company includes strategic partnerships with AWS and Anthropic, which will provide access to technology, scale capabilities and enterprise readiness.
General Catalyst said Percepta has already begun assisting with clinical workflows and patient engagement for payers and providers.
The VC firm reiterated its stance that AI relies on three components: advancing foundational and intelligence models, developing an underlying data infrastructure and enabling workforce adoption of AI. It says Percepta will help synchronize the three parts.
Pertaining to the intelligence layer, Athul Paul Jacob, Percepta's cofounder and chief AI officer, and Costis Daskalakis, the company's cofounder and chief scientist, will lead a research lab to "pursue advanced model building and decision-making capability across industries."
General Catalyst said it will include a blend of foundation models, optimization, game theory and reinforcement learning.
"At General Catalyst, we have always lived at the bleeding edge of both technology and company-building. We don’t just invest in the future; we build it alongside entrepreneurs. With Percepta, fully owned by General Catalyst, we’re bringing that same edge directly into the enterprise, turning our investments, partnerships, and learnings into enterprise-scale transformation," the company said in a statement.
THE LARGER TREND
Earlier this week, Hemant Taneja, CEO of General Catalyst, announced on LinkedIn that the VC firm's business venture, Health Assurance Transformation Company (HATCo), completed its acquisition of Ohio healthcare system Summa Health.
"As the largest employer in Akron, we now carry both responsibility and opportunity: to serve the community for generations to come, and to demonstrate that a safety-net hospital can thrive and serve as a blueprint for healthcare transformation and innovation," Taneja wrote.
"The net proceeds from this transaction will fund the Trailhead Community Health Foundation of Greater Akron, which will be governed by an independent non-profit board, and will invest in expanding access to healthcare and driving long-term improvements across the Akron community."
General Catalyst announced its intentions to purchase the nonprofit healthcare system in January 2024 and signed a definitive agreement to purchase Summa for $485 million in November of that year.
Summa has over 30 locations throughout the Akron and Canton areas, including community-based health centers, hospitals, a multispecialty group practice, an entrepreneurial entity, multiple foundations, research and medical education, and a health plan dubbed SummaCare.
In October 2024, General Catalyst announced it secured $8 billion in new capital, including $6 billion for its latest fund, Fund XII, and $2 billion in separately managed accounts.
The company said the funding would be used to boost the firm's investments across various sectors, including defense and intelligence, climate and energy, AI, industrials, and healthcare and fintech.
