Introduction to Hims & Hers
Hims & Hers, a telehealth and wellness company, has made a significant move by hiring a veteran from the autonomous vehicle industry as its next chief technology officer. This decision, according to Hims & Hers co-founder and CEO Andrew Dudum, was intentional and strategic. The company has chosen Mo Elshenawy, the former president and CTO of self-driving car company Cruise, to fill this crucial role.
The Unlikely Jump from AVs to Health
The transition from autonomous vehicles to health may seem unexpected, but Dudum explains that he deliberately sought a leader from the autonomous driving sector to accelerate Hims & Hers’ AI-based product agenda. "I was looking very much at leaders in the autonomous driving space, explicitly because you’re talking about leveraging technology and data and AI in an extremely high-sensitive environment where you have people’s lives at risk," Dudum said in an interview.
Why the Move Isn’t as Big of a Leap as It Seems
Elshenawy, who holds more than 10 patents across AI, robotics, and autonomous vehicles, believes that the move to healthcare isn’t as drastic as it appears. "Self-driving cars use AI to make real-time decisions in complex, high-stakes and heavily regulated environments, where earning trust is everything," he said. "Healthcare operates under the same conditions. You’re dealing with people’s lives, limited resources, and systems under stress. Translating AI into safe, reliable decision-making at scale applies directly to what we’re building at Hims & Hers."
About Hims & Hers
Hims & Hers is a San Francisco-based telehealth company that went public in 2021. Initially, the company focused on men’s health, selling erectile dysfunction medications and hair loss treatments. Over time, it expanded into women’s health and added mental health and weight loss treatments to its portfolio. The company connects customers with licensed healthcare professionals and treats between 10,000 and 15,000 patients daily.
Recent Hires and Ambitions
The company’s recent hires reflect its ambitions. Earlier this week, Hims & Hers announced that former Amazon executive Nader Kabbani would be its next chief of operations. Dudum sees AI as the key technology that will help the company evolve and serve more people. The company has collected a massive dataset from millions of patients, which is being used to create AI models for diagnosing and treating patients.
The Role of AI in Healthcare
Two years ago, Hims & Hers trained a model off its dataset to create MedMatch, a tool that helps doctors recommend mental health-related treatments. Dudum emphasized that all AI-based tools still have a human in the loop, specifically a doctor or other healthcare professionals. "There’s a very strict and structured approach when it comes to clinical decision tools within the medical industry, so providers are ultimately, from a regulatory standpoint, still necessary to make all of these clinical judgments and decisions," he said.
Transparency in AI Decision-Making
Dudum noted that the company’s AI products are designed to give insight and help make healthcare professionals more efficient and precise. The AI also shows doctors and healthcare professionals how it arrived at its conclusions when making recommendations. "Showing the work and actually providing the kind of context behind the scenes as to what’s driving and what weights are driving the outputs, I think are actually, in many ways, just as valuable as the actual recommendation," he said.
Conclusion
The appointment of Mo Elshenawy as the new CTO of Hims & Hers marks a significant step in the company’s journey to leverage AI in healthcare. With its ambitious plans to expand its services and improve patient outcomes, Hims & Hers is poised to make a meaningful impact in the telehealth industry. As the company continues to develop and implement AI-based solutions, it is likely to face both opportunities and challenges. However, with its strategic hires and commitment to transparency, Hims & Hers is well-positioned to navigate the complex landscape of healthcare and technology.
