Pairing documentation with coding at the point of care, rather than treating them as separate problems, unlocks adoption, ROI, and compliance in clinical AI. In this episode, Nikhil Buduma, co-founder and CEO of Ambience Healthcare, explains how his team built an end-to-end platform that unifies pre-charting, ambient listening, and revenue integrity to reduce clinicians’ administrative burden. He discusses why many AI deployments stall, adoption outcomes, and how the platform achieves system-wide daily use once fundamentals are in place. Nikhil highlights how surfacing payer-specific rules and closing documentation gaps can recover tens of millions in missed reimbursement while maintaining compliance through continuous third-party auditing. He also previews upcoming tools, Patient Summary and Chart Chat, which aim to expand access to high-quality care in rural communities. Tune in and learn how integrated, workflow-native AI can boost adoption, safeguard compliance, and turn clinical time back to patient care.
About Nikhil Buduma:
Nikhil Buduma is a San Francisco–based entrepreneur, scientist, and engineer working at the cutting edge of AI and healthcare. He is the co-founder and CEO of Ambience Healthcare, an AI platform built to supercharge every healthcare worker with intelligent automation. Under his leadership, Ambience has grown into one of the most well-funded AI healthcare startups in the world, raising over $343 million from top investors, including a16z, OpenAI, Kleiner Perkins, Oak HC/FT, Optum Ventures, and industry pioneers such as Jeff Dean and Pieter Abbeel. Before becoming CEO, Nikhil served as Ambience’s Chief Scientist, leading the development of its core AI systems that streamline documentation, coding, and clinical workflows for healthcare systems, including the Cleveland Clinic and St. Luke’s.
Prior to Ambience, Nikhil co-founded Remedy Health, where he applied machine learning to advance value-based care models, backed by Khosla Ventures and Greylock. He also co-founded Lean On Me, a nonprofit organization that supports mental health and wellness across U.S. college campuses through anonymous peer-to-peer text support networks at institutions such as MIT, Duke, and UC Berkeley.
A graduate and valedictorian of Bellarmine College Preparatory, Nikhil earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science and engineering from MIT. His career reflects a rare blend of technical mastery, compassion, and vision—using AI not to replace clinicians, but to restore the human joy in the practice of medicine.
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