HealthTech startup Freed raises $30M led by Sequoia to transform medical scribing with AI

Doctors are drowning in paperwork. Between patient visits, they spend hours filling out clinical notes, updating records, and handling administrative tasks that keep them away from what matters most—providing care.

A recent study from Google Cloud found that clinicians spend nearly nine hours a week on documentation. Another report from Athenahealth pointed to administrative tasks as a major reason for burnout, with 64% of doctors feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of clerical work.

Erez Druk saw this struggle firsthand. His wife, Dr. Gabi Meckler, works at a community clinic in Northern California, splitting her time between treating patients and wrestling with documentation.

“I got sucked into the world of clinicians,” Druk told CNBC in an interview. “One day, it was like, ‘Hey Gabi, what should we just build for you?’ One day, she told him, ‘Do my notes for me.’”

That request led Druk, a former Facebook engineer, to launch Freed, an AI-powered medical scribe that automates note-taking for clinicians.

Freed’s AI Scribe: A Solution for Clinician Burnout

Freed listens during patient visits—only when doctors opt in to record—then generates structured, accurate notes in real time. It’s available for $99 a month, making it accessible to individual clinicians and small practices. Since launching in 2023, Freed has attracted 17,000 clinicians globally, processing around two million patient visits every month.

The company just closed a $30 million funding round led by Sequoia Capital, marking its first institutional raise. With this backing, Freed is expanding its capabilities beyond scribing, introducing features like custom note formatting, pre-charting, and specialty-specific templates. The team is also working on automating billing and coding tasks to lighten the load further.

The AI medical scribing space is heating up, with heavyweights like Microsoft and other health tech startups such as Abridge and Suki vying for market share. Josephine Chen, a partner at Sequoia, believes Freed stands out by focusing on small, independent practices rather than hospital systems.

For nurse practitioner Natalie Desseyn, Freed has been a lifeline. She sees about 250 patients through Cloud Break Therapy in Virginia and credits Freed for making that workload manageable. “I’m not over here writing, so people feel really heard,” she said. “It’s literally changed my life.”

Meckler had a similar reaction. Before using Freed, she spent nearly half her workday on documentation. Now, what used to take 15 minutes is done in two. “I expect great things from Erez, but I was still shocked,” she said.

Druk and his 50-person team are focused on refining Freed and expanding its features. “It’s truly the most fulfilling and the most important work I’ve ever done, and probably will ever do,” he said. For thousands of clinicians, the impact is clear: less time on notes, more time with patients, and maybe even a little extra time for themselves.