Family Offices Bet on AI-Driven Healthcare Amid Broader Deal Slowdown

The global investment landscape in 2025 has been marked by a pronounced slowdown in deal activity, with family offices reducing direct investments by 32% in the first half of the year, according to FinTRX data (FinTRX report). Yet, amid this retrenchment, a striking divergence has emerged: ultra-wealthy investors are doubling down on artificial intelligence (AI) and healthcare innovations. This trend underscores a strategic recalibration toward sectors perceived as both economically resilient and aligned with long-term secular growth.

According to a report by CNBC and FinTRX, family offices are increasingly favoring deep-tech ventures-particularly those at the intersection of AI and healthcare-over traditional consumer-facing tech startups. The logic is clear: AI-driven healthcare solutions offer not only transformative potential but also durable competitive advantages in an era of geopolitical and macroeconomic volatility. For instance, SandboxAQ, a quantum AI firm, secured a $450 million Series E round in early 2025, with backing from Ray Dalio's and Jim Breyer's family offices, according to a Future Family Office report (Future Family Office report). Such investments reflect a preference for foundational technologies that underpin future applications, rather than incremental improvements in existing markets.

The healthcare sector, in particular, has drawn significant attention. Indian billionaire Azim Premji's Premji Invest participated in a $141 million funding round for Hippocratic AI, a startup developing AI tools to optimize clinical workflows. Similarly, Hong Kong's Li Ka-shing-backed Horizons Ventures contributed to a $27 million round for Owlstone Medical, which is pioneering breath-based disease detection. These cases, highlighted in the Future Family Office piece, underscore a broader shift toward high-impact, capital-intensive innovations that address systemic gaps in healthcare delivery.

Family offices are also adopting a "picks and shovels" strategy, investing in the infrastructure that supports AI growth. As noted by FinTRX, this includes data centers, compute capacity, and specialized hardware. Peter Thiel's and Eric Schmidt's family offices, for example, have made multiple bets on AI and aerospace infrastructure. This approach mirrors historical patterns where investors capitalized on enabling technologies during industrial revolutions, rather than end-user products.

The resilience of family offices in this space is further validated by institutional data. Goldman Sachs' 2025 Family Office Investment Insights report reveals that 58% of family offices plan to be overweight in the technology sector, with 86% already exposed to AI, aligning with broader market trends: North American startup funding in Q3 2025 allocated $63.1 billion to AI-related categories, accounting for 57% of all funding. Such figures suggest that family offices are not outliers but part of a larger capital reallocation toward AI-driven industries.

The strategic calculus of family offices is rooted in their long time horizons and risk tolerance. Unlike institutional investors bound by quarterly performance metrics, family offices can afford to bet on multi-decade payoffs. As one analyst notes, "They're not just chasing returns; they're shaping the future of industries they believe will define the next era of economic growth," a point underscored in the Future Family Office report. This mindset is particularly evident in their willingness to fund AI healthcare ventures that require years of R&D before commercialization.

However, challenges remain. Regulatory scrutiny of AI and healthcare data privacy, coupled with the high capital intensity of these ventures, could test the patience of even the most patient capital. Yet, for now, family offices appear undeterred. Their bets signal a conviction that the convergence of AI and healthcare is not a fleeting trend but a structural shift-one that will redefine both sectors and the global economy.