TL;DR
Hospitals are losing two to four hours of operating room time daily to coordination and turnover problems rather than surgical work. Akara, led by co-founder and CEO Conor McGinn, is building an AI-driven 'air traffic control' for hospitals using thermal sensors, and was named to Time’s Best Inventions of 2025.
What happened
TechCrunch’s Equity podcast featured an interview between AI editor Russell Brandom and Conor McGinn, co-founder and CEO of Akara, a startup focused on improving operating room coordination. The episode highlights that hospitals routinely lose two to four hours of OR capacity each day because of non‑surgical delays — manual scheduling, coordination gaps and uncertainty about room turnover. Akara aims to address those bottlenecks by deploying thermal sensors in clinical spaces and layering AI to track activity and orchestrate room use, an approach McGinn and the company liken to air traffic control. Akara’s system gained outside recognition when it was included on Time’s Best Inventions of 2025. The conversation was presented on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast; distribution channels for the podcast include major platforms named in the episode metadata.
Why it matters
- Operating room inefficiency translates directly into lost clinical capacity and revenue for hospitals.
- Automation of scheduling and turnover tracking could reduce idle OR time without changing surgical procedures.
- Sensor-based monitoring plus AI may provide real-time visibility into room status, improving coordination.
- Broader adoption of such systems could influence how hospitals invest in operational rather than purely clinical technology.
Key facts
- Hospitals reportedly lose two to four hours of operating room time every day to coordination and turnover issues.
- Primary causes called out include manual scheduling, coordination chaos and guesswork about room turnover.
- Akara is developing a system described as an 'air traffic control' for hospitals that combines thermal sensors with AI.
- Conor McGinn is co-founder and CEO of Akara and spoke about the company on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast.
- TechCrunch AI Editor Russell Brandom conducted the interview featured on the Equity episode.
- Akara was included in Time’s Best Inventions of 2025, according to the podcast discussion.
- The Equity episode and related coverage were produced for TechCrunch and distributed on major podcast platforms.
What to watch next
- Clinical outcomes or validated efficiency gains from Akara’s system: not confirmed in the source.
- Wider hospital adoption timelines and deployment scale for Akara’s solution: not confirmed in the source.
- Regulatory clearance, privacy reviews or formal evaluations of sensor data use in operating rooms: not confirmed in the source.
Quick glossary
- Operating room (OR) turnover: The time and tasks required to prepare an operating room for the next patient after a procedure finishes.
- Thermal sensor: A device that detects heat signatures to infer presence, movement or activity without capturing detailed visual images.
- AI-driven coordination: The use of machine learning models to analyze data and make or suggest operational decisions in real time.
- Air traffic control (analogy): A coordination model in which centralized systems monitor assets and direct movement to optimize throughput and safety.
Reader FAQ
What specific problem is Akara trying to solve?
Akara targets the non‑surgical delays that cost hospitals two to four hours of OR time daily, such as scheduling and room turnover.
How does Akara’s system work?
According to the interview, Akara combines thermal sensors with AI to monitor activity and coordinate operating room use.
Has Akara’s approach been proven to save time or money?
Not confirmed in the source.
Where was this discussed?
Conor McGinn discussed Akara on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast in an interview with Russell Brandom.
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Sources
- Can AI fix the operating room? This startup thinks so
- Akara AI Sensor: The Best Inventions of 2025
- Akara AI
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