How AI Startups Are Disrupting Law and Healthcare: A 2024 Industry Forecast

AI technology companies are poised to sweep the service industry, with legal and healthcare sectors highlighted as the most vulnerable to automation.

A report shows that previously hard‑to‑automate fields are attracting new AI applications that could replace human workers.

Transforming business processes into AI operations has become the new normal. In 2024, firms such as Salesforce, HubSpot and Microsoft launched AI “agent” features for customer service and sales.

Numerous newly founded software companies are leveraging AI to build applications from scratch, aiming to reshape traditionally resistant fields, especially legal services and healthcare.

Alkesh Shah, a software and services analyst, wrote on December 13 that AI‑native startups will surge and gradually eat into the $12.3 trillion U.S. service economy, likening the wave to the early internet era of 1996.

One highlighted startup, Hippocratic AI (San Francisco, founded 2022), uses large language models to perform non‑diagnostic medical tasks, such as assessing whether a patient needs emergency care. The company reports adoption rates rising, with agent satisfaction scores high and costs of $9‑10 per hour—far below the $50‑90 per hour cost of human nurses.

Another startup, vLex (Barcelona), employs large language models to generate hypothetical arguments that opposing lawyers might use, helping attorneys craft strategies. Its Vincent AI platform accelerates massive document searches, reducing the time to analyze privacy regulations across seven countries from weeks to minutes, and serves 2 million users in eight of the world’s top ten law firms.

These examples illustrate how AI automation is beginning to erode human jobs in both sectors.

“Competing with AI will become increasingly difficult. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, there are roughly 3.3 million registered nurses (average $41/hr), 55,000 medical record staff ($18/hr), 859,000 lawyers ($70/hr), and 366,000 legal assistants ($29/hr).”

Generative AI is expanding beyond sales and customer‑experience functions into vertical, industry‑specific applications.

The rise of AI‑focused business software packages may help bridge the gap for enterprises still learning how best to leverage the technology.

For individuals, especially developers, this represents a rare opportunity.