Sword Health Expands Beyond MSK Care with New AI Assistant for Payers and Providers

Sword Health, a leader in virtual physical therapy and mental health, has launched a new AI assistant designed specifically for payers and providers to address operational and administrative challenges. This new AI division, called Sword Intelligence, marks a significant expansion beyond the company’s core offerings in digital musculoskeletal (MSK) care, pelvic health, and movement health. According to Virgilio "V" Bento, founder and CEO of Sword Health, Sword Intelligence represents a "pivotal evolution" in the company’s strategy. He explained, "Sword Intelligence allows us to move beyond delivering care to our own members to enabling the entire healthcare industry to scale it efficiently and effectively."

"At Sword Health, we talk about our mission as making world-class care as accessible as running water. And we often say we’re only 5% done. Looking at the opportunity ahead—moving healthcare from a model that relies 100% on human labor to one where AI takes on a central role—that statement has never felt more true," Bento added.

AI Solutions Battle-Tested Internally

Sword Health’s AI care manager agents were initially developed to optimize the company’s internal non-clinical workflows, including enrollment, triage, eligibility checks, and outreach to high-risk members. These AI tools have helped Sword efficiently manage care for over half a million members.

"Sword Intelligence began as an internal initiative to address Sword Health’s own operational challenges in delivering care more efficiently," Bento said.

With more than 600,000 patient members, managing and coordinating care across multiple programs and customer support is labor-intensive and difficult to scale with human resources alone. Sword Health realized the need for a scalable AI solution to maintain efficiency.

"We then realized that other healthcare organizations—payers, providers, and governments—face the same challenges. Demand for healthcare is increasing, but the ability to serve that demand is not keeping pace," Bento noted.

Offering AI Capabilities to External Organizations

Sword Intelligence now offers modular AI care managers that integrate with existing human teams and infrastructure. This provides a flexible way for healthcare organizations to scale care, improve efficiency, and reduce costs. Initially focused on virtual MSK care, Sword Health has expanded into pelvic health, movement health, and mental health, launching an AI-driven mental health care model in June 2025 alongside a $40 million funding round. The company previously raised $130 million in June 2024 and currently holds a $4 billion valuation. Sword Health serves over 1,000 enterprise clients and reports that since 2020, more than 600,000 members across three continents have completed 7 million AI sessions. The company claims its virtual care solutions have saved nearly $1 billion in unnecessary healthcare costs and are backed by over 40 clinical studies demonstrating improved outcomes.

Latest Technology and AI-Driven Care Management

Last year, Sword Health introduced Phoenix, a technology combining AI and human clinicians to guide patients through sessions with natural conversation. Phoenix continues to support patients directly. Sword Intelligence operates like a startup within Sword Health, with its own team, roadmap, and go-to-market strategy targeting healthcare areas beyond digital physical therapy. The AI solutions are modular, safety-first, and designed to integrate seamlessly with existing workflows and systems, meeting HIPAA, HITRUST, and SOC 2 compliance standards.

Competitive Advantage and Custom Solutions

The healthcare AI space is crowded, but Bento emphasizes Sword Health’s unique position due to its real-world experience.

"Many vendors either understand AI but not healthcare, or know healthcare but lack deep AI expertise. Sword Health is uniquely positioned because we’ve been testing AI in healthcare with our own members for years, learning how to engage patients, coordinate care, and navigate complex workflows."

Rather than offering off-the-shelf products, Sword Health works closely with clients to tailor AI solutions that integrate seamlessly into their specific workflows.

"We want governments and payers to approach us with problems that aren’t scalable, and then we partner to develop bespoke solutions that work from day one," Bento said.

Future Outlook

As the digital health IPO market heats up—with competitors like Hinge Health and Omada Health going public in 2025—Sword Health is considered a strong candidate for an IPO, though no specific date has been set.

"We have been thinking about an IPO, but it will not happen before the second half of 2025," Bento stated in a previous interview.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

About Sword Intelligence

Q: What is Sword Intelligence? A: Sword Intelligence is a new AI division launched by Sword Health. It focuses on developing and offering AI-powered solutions to address operational and administrative challenges within the healthcare industry, extending beyond Sword Health's core virtual care services. Q: What types of challenges does Sword Intelligence aim to solve? A: Sword Intelligence targets operational and administrative challenges faced by payers and providers in the healthcare sector. This includes improving efficiency, scaling care delivery, and reducing costs. Q: How did Sword Health develop its AI capabilities? A: Sword Health's AI care manager agents were initially developed internally to optimize non-clinical workflows such as enrollment, triage, eligibility checks, and member outreach. These tools have been battle-tested and used to manage care for over half a million members.

Expansion and Offerings

Q: What does this expansion mean for Sword Health? A: This expansion signifies Sword Health's strategic evolution to enable the broader healthcare industry to scale care efficiently, moving from just delivering care to their own members to empowering other organizations. Q: What specific services does Sword Intelligence offer? A: Sword Intelligence offers modular AI care managers that can integrate with existing healthcare teams and infrastructure. These solutions are designed to help organizations scale care, improve efficiency, and reduce costs. Q: What areas has Sword Health expanded into beyond MSK care? A: Sword Health has expanded its offerings to include pelvic health, movement health, and mental health.

Competitive Edge and Customization

Q: What is Sword Health's competitive advantage in the AI healthcare space? A: Sword Health's competitive advantage lies in its extensive real-world experience using AI in healthcare, understanding both AI technology and the complexities of the healthcare industry. Q: Does Sword Intelligence offer a one-size-fits-all solution? A: No, Sword Health works closely with clients to tailor AI solutions that integrate seamlessly into their specific workflows, developing bespoke solutions to meet unique challenges.

Future Outlook

Q: What is the future outlook for Sword Health? A: With its strong performance and expansion into AI, Sword Health is considered a strong candidate for an IPO, with plans potentially materializing in the second half of 2025.

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Crypto Market AI's Take

Sword Health's strategic pivot into offering its internally developed AI solutions as "Sword Intelligence" to the wider healthcare industry highlights a significant trend: the direct application of AI and automation to solve complex operational challenges. This mirrors the advancements we are seeing in the crypto space, where AI is increasingly being used to optimize trading strategies, manage portfolios, and enhance market analysis. Just as Sword Health leverages its proven AI tools to improve healthcare efficiency, our platform at Crypto Market AI provides advanced AI agents and trading bots designed to navigate the dynamic cryptocurrency markets. By integrating sophisticated AI into healthcare administration, Sword Health is demonstrating the power of technology to scale services and improve outcomes, a principle that resonates strongly with our mission to revolutionize finance through AI.

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Source: Sword Health launches new AI assistant for payers, providers as it expands beyond MSK care on July 29, 2025.