From Building ChatGPT for Doctors to Solving the $87B Wasted Health Tech Problem - OpenEvidence & Ardexia

Thanks for tuning in to these conversations with two founders changing the future of healthcare live from HLTH 2025.

Zachary Ziegler, co-founder of OpenEvidence, built a platform that reached 40% of practicing clinicians in just two years by centering a simple principle: every answer includes citations to peer-reviewed research. With access to 40 million papers updated daily with 10,000-20,000 new studies, doctors can verify every claim instantly. Growing 30-40% month-over-month and adding 60,000-70,000 clinicians monthly, Ziegler challenges conventional wisdom—EHRs are already a top burnout driver, forced integration isn't the answer, and physicians prefer autonomy over mandates.

Dr. Aditi Joshi, founder of Ardexia, tackles a different crisis: healthcare organizations waste $87 billion annually on contracted technology doctors never use. A former emergency medicine physician who experienced burnout twice, she moved into telemedicine and discovered the core insight—most builders don't understand how physicians actually work. You can't mandate adoption. You can only solve real problems. She's building Ardexia with validation first, burnout prevention as a foundational business strategy, and clinician expertise leading product decisions from day one.

Highlights from Zachary Ziegler at OpenEvidence:

• Started with a Harvard PhD studying language models before ChatGPT; built "ChatGPT for doctors" with complete citation trails to peer-reviewed research
• Reached 40% of practicing clinicians with daily active usage; adding 60,000-70,000 new clinician users monthly (30-40% month-over-month growth)
• Philosophy: "Trust, but verify"—every answer sources from original papers so doctors can verify claims against peer-reviewed research

Highlights from Dr. Aditi Joshi at Ardexia:

• Former emergency medicine physician who discovered during telemedicine work that technology adoption is a people problem, not just a technical problem
• Identified the $87 billion annual cost of unused healthcare technology—five-year contracts continuing whether clinicians ever use the tools
• Building Ardexia with burnout prevention as a foundational business strategy; validation-first approach to understanding specific pain points before scaling

The result: healthcare's AI transformation doesn't happen in the lab—it happens when builders center the people actually using the tools.

A "glow up" signifies a positive transformation, reflecting the journey of becoming a better, more successful version of oneself.

At The Tech Glow Up, we humanize the startup and innovation landscape by focusing on the essential aspects of the entrepreneurial journey. Groundbreaking ideas are often ahead of their time, making resilience and perseverance vital for founders and product leaders.

In our podcast, we engage with innovators to discuss their transformative ideas, the challenges they face, and how they create value for future success.

If you're a founder or product leader seeking your own glow up, or a seasoned entrepreneur with stories to share, we invite you to join our guest list via this link.