Can AI Fix Housing and Healthcare Affordability?

Housing and healthcare make up nearly half of household spending, yet both sectors are riddled with inefficiency and rising costs. In this episode, Erik Torenberg is joined by a16z Growth partner Alex Immerman and Minna Song and Tony Stoyanov, cofounders of EliseAI, to discuss why they’re tackling these critical industries and how AI can transform everything from leasing and maintenance to patient scheduling and compliance. The conversation covers: - Why the U.S. is 5 million housing units short — and how technology can help unlock existing supply - How automation can cut waste, reduce labor costs, and improve affordability - What fully autonomous buildings might look like, and how that model could extend to healthcare This is about the costs that touch every household, and the role AI might play in finally bringing them down. Timecodes: 0:00 Introduction 0:28 Why Housing and Healthcare? 1:55 Technology’s Role in Housing 3:30 Housing Affordability & Supply Challenges 5:29 Regulatory and Capital Barriers 8:13 Improving Efficiency in Real Estate 12:50 Automation & The Future of Property Management 18:15 The Human Role in an Automated Future 20:35 Financial Engineering & Data Bottlenecks 21:51 The Future of Housing: AI, Robotics, and Mobility 25:33 R&D and Technology Adoption in Real Estate 27:40 Addressing Criticisms of PropTech 29:30 Tackling Repairs, Maintenance, and Operations 30:49 Expanding from Housing to Healthcare 33:04 Parallels Between Housing and Healthcare 37:46 The Ultimate Vision Resources: Link to blog: https://a16z.com/announcement/investing-in-eliseai/ Find Minna on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/minna-song/ Find Tony on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stoyan-tony-stoyanov-07690a53 FInd Alex on X: https://x.com/aleximm Stay Updated: Let us know what you think: https://ratethispodcast.com/a16z Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Subscribe on your favorite po