VDS Conversations: why AI will transform healthcare, by Iñaki Berenguer

The last edition of VDS was not only a showcase of emerging technologies. It was also a space to examine artificial intelligence with a more strategic lens, focusing on where it will generate the greatest economic and societal impact over the next decade.

In that context, Iñaki Berenguer, serial entrepreneur, co-founder of Coverwallet, Managing Partner at LifeX Ventures, and winner of the VDS 2025 Honorary Award, outlined a clear thesis. Healthcare, he argued, is not just another industry to be disrupted by AI. It is one of the sectors where its impact will be deepest, most systemic, and most economically significant.

 

Why healthcare stands out in the AI economy

Berenguer framed artificial intelligence as a horizontal technology with the potential to reshape every industry, in a way comparable to or even exceeding previous paradigm shifts such as the internet, mobile or cloud computing. However, he emphasized that not all sectors are equally positioned to capture that value.

Healthcare stands out due to a unique convergence of structural factors. In the United States, it represents close to one fifth of GDP, while in Europe it exceeds ten percent. Despite this scale, the system remains highly inefficient. Medical data is largely digital, but often fragmented, unstructured, and difficult to operationalize. This creates a persistent gap between the system’s potential and its actual performance.

At the same time, healthcare operates under constant pressure. Demand continues to grow, while the supply of qualified professionals remains limited. This imbalance makes it an ideal environment for technologies that can increase capacity without proportionally increasing resources.

 

From automation to cognitive amplification

One of Berenguer‘s central ideas is that AI should not be understood primarily as a tool for automation, but as a mechanism for cognitive amplification.

In professions such as medicine, nursing or education, where there is a structural shortage of talent, the objective is not to replace humans but to extend their capabilities. Artificial intelligence enables professionals to process more information, make better decisions, and operate at a higher level of efficiency.

This shift has profound implications. It allows systems to scale output without scaling headcount at the same rate. In a sector like healthcare, where constraints are structural rather than temporary, this represents a fundamental change in how value is created.

 

 

The operational bottleneck behind healthcare inefficiency

Berenguer also challenged a common assumption about where healthcare costs originate. While public discourse often focuses on clinical expenses or medical salaries, a significant part of the inefficiency lies in operational and administrative layers.

In many hospitals, a large proportion of staff is dedicated to non clinical tasks, including coordination, documentation, compliance, and internal processes. These functions are necessary, but they introduce friction, slow down execution, and limit scalability.

This is where AI can have an immediate and measurable impact. By optimizing workflows and automating repetitive processes, it can reduce operational overhead and reallocate human capital toward higher value activities, particularly direct patient care. The result is not only cost efficiency, but also an improvement in the quality and accessibility of healthcare services.

 

The US vs Europe adoption gap

Another key point in Berenguer‘s analysis was the difference in adoption speed between the United States and Europe.

In the US, AI solutions are already being deployed more aggressively across healthcare providers, supported by a more flexible and market driven system. In Europe, adoption is slower, largely due to the predominance of public healthcare structures, longer procurement cycles, and stricter regulatory frameworks.

However, this gap should be understood as a matter of timing rather than a structural disadvantage. Historically, Europe has followed similar trajectories in previous technological waves, eventually converging as regulatory frameworks adapt and successful use cases accumulate.

 

Why healthcare could produce the next generation of unicorns

From an investment perspective, Berenguer’s thesis is clear. Healthcare combines several of the key ingredients required to build large scale companies: a massive market, structural inefficiencies, strong economic incentives, and a clear return on investment from optimization.

As artificial intelligence moves from experimentation to deployment, startups capable of operating within regulatory constraints, integrating with existing systems, and delivering reliable outcomes will define the next generation of category leaders.

Berenguer‘s conclusion was ultimately optimistic. The opportunity is not incremental, but systemic. And within that transformation, healthcare is likely to become one of the main engines for the next wave of AI driven unicorns.

To explore more sessions and insights like this, check VDS News.