Moneyball Medicine

About half a million babies are born every year through IVF. That number would probably be a lot higher if the procedure were cheaper and more accessible—but making that happen would  mean transforming IVF from an artisanal craft into something more like a modern automated factory, with AI helping doctors and technicians make faster and better decisions at every step. And that’s exactly what Harry's guest Mylene Yao, the co-founder of Univfy, is doing. Univfy helps patients with two aspects of the IVF process. The first is using machine learning to provide patients with a more accurate assessment of  the odds of success, before they decide whether to invest in one or more IVF cycles, which can cost up to $30,000 per cycle. The second is financing. Univfy works with a bank called Lightstream to provide up to $100,000 in financing for up to three rounds of IVF, with a large refund as part of the deal if the treatments don’t result in a baby. Harry talks with Dr. Yao about the prospects for far broader access to