The archive · Health & Care · Product decision · 2017–2026
Ubie: free symptom checks grew 13M users, then Mayo Clinic came to buy the AI
Ubie's free AI symptom checker reached 13M monthly users, then became hospital intake software — drawing Google's money and a Mayo Clinic build.
Ubie
What the business is
Ubie is a Tokyo healthtech company whose AI Symptom Checker helps people understand their symptoms and find suitable care, and whose Medical Navigator intake software is used by more than 1,700 medical institutions; its Ubie for Pharma service works with pharmaceutical firms (HLTH).
How it started
Kota Kubo co-founded Ubie in Tokyo in 2017 (HLTH; Hit Consultant quotes him as co-founder and co-CEO). The company's first product was a free AI symptom checker that asks what a person is feeling and guides them to suitable care — the tool that later reached more than 12 million monthly users (HLTH).
What happened
Ubie opened a US subsidiary in 2022 and kept adding institutional products: Medical Navigator intake software is used by more than 1,700 medical institutions, and Ubie for Pharma works with drugmakers (HLTH). Google invested in October 2024. On 2026-02-12 Ubie and Mayo Clinic announced they would co-develop Ubie Smart Support, an AI agent that triages symptoms over chat or voice, routes patients to ER, urgent care or video visits, and schedules appointments 24/7, with a chronic-disease module planned (Hit Consultant).
How it ended up
As of February 2026 Ubie supports about 13 million monthly users globally and is deepening its international bet with Mayo Clinic, which brings US credibility and a co-development partner rather than just a customer (Hit Consultant). The company has not disclosed whether the free consumer product is profitable on its own; the institutional engine is where it sells.
Background
Ubie bet that the millions who search symptoms before choosing a doctor would trust a free AI checker — and that this consumer base would make the same engine credible as hospital software (HLTH).
The checker reached 12 million monthly users by 2024 and 13 million by 2026; more than 1,700 institutions adopted the Medical Navigator intake tool, and pharma work followed (HLTH; Hit Consultant).
Google invested in October 2024, and on 2026-02-12 Mayo Clinic agreed to co-develop Ubie Smart Support, an AI triage agent that takes chat or voice input, routes patients to the right care setting and books appointments around the clock (HLTH; Hit Consultant).
Ubie's US subsidiary dates to 2022; the Mayo Clinic deal is its sharpest move yet from Japanese healthtech to a global platform, turning a free consumer tool into clinical infrastructure (HLTH; Hit Consultant).
What has to be true
- Consumers search symptoms long before they know which doctor they need, so the free checker met demand that no clinic website was serving.
- Mass consumer use validated the clinical engine: hospitals buying intake software trust the product millions already rely on.
- The same AI does both jobs — triage for the public and intake for institutions — so one build created two markets.
- Institutional revenue, Google's backing and a Mayo Clinic co-development deal are what make a free consumer product a business.
What can be applied
Free consumer tools can open clinical doors: Ubie's symptom checker built 13M monthly users, and the same engine became software hospitals pay for — Mayo Clinic now co-develops with it.
Aftermath
As of 2026-02-12 Ubie was scaling internationally with about 13 million monthly users, a US subsidiary opened in 2022, Google among its backers, and a new agreement with Mayo Clinic to co-develop Ubie Smart Support — AI triage over chat or voice that routes patients and schedules appointments 24/7, with a chronic-disease module planned (HLTH; Hit Consultant). Kota Kubo, co-founder and co-CEO, framed the partnership as a step toward Ubie's mission of guiding everyone to the right care (Hit Consultant).
Sources
- Ubie Secures Google Funding to Expand AI-Powered Healthcare Solutions
- Ubie and Mayo Clinic to Launch "Smart Support" AI Triage Platform
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