Doximity, a US digital platform for medical professionals, has acquired Pathway Medical, a Montreal-based AI clinical reference startup, in a deal valued at up to US$63 million.

The acquisition includes US$26 million in cash and up to US$37 million in additional equity grants, with the deal closing in late July.

Pathway provides an AI tool that helps doctors find answers about medical guidelines, drugs, and clinical trials using medical literature.

Doximity, a digital platform for doctors to access news, referrals, and telehealth services, said it is already testing a combined product with Pathway’s technology among thousands of physicians.

The company said Pathway’s dataset will strengthen its existing AI offerings, which include tools for generating insurance letters and summarizing patient records.

Doximity reported that Pathway’s AI model scored 96% on the US Medical Licensing Examination benchmark.

Doximity, which went public in 2021, has a market cap of about US$11 billion, and its stock is up 8% this year.

🔗 Source: CNBC

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Doximity leverages massive physician network to expand beyond social networking

Doximity’s $63 million Pathway acquisition represents a strategic evolution from networking platform to clinical decision support, building on years of establishing physician trust and engagement.

The company grew from 30,000 physicians in 2011 to over one million members by 2018, capturing over 70% of US physicians on their platform 1. This massive user base provides the ideal foundation for introducing AI clinical tools, since doctors are already using Doximity for professional communication and workflow management.

The acquisition also benefits from CEO Jeff Tangney’s previous experience co-founding Epocrates, a medical reference tool company 2. This background suggests Doximity understands both the networking and clinical reference markets, positioning them to integrate these capabilities effectively.

The strategy reflects successful platform expansions where companies use their established user relationships to introduce adjacent services, rather than trying to build clinical AI tools from scratch without an existing physician audience.

2️⃣ Healthcare AI adoption accelerating as clinical validation improves

The timing of Doximity’s AI expansion aligns with broader healthcare industry momentum toward AI-powered clinical tools gaining regulatory and professional acceptance.