Heidi Health layoffs: AI scribe maker cuts 18% as co-founders exit

Heidi Health, the Melbourne-based company that makes an AI medical scribe, is cutting about 18% of its global workforce, or about 108 roles, at the same time as two of its three co-founders leave the business. Staff were told of the lay-offs on Thursday, 5 November 2026, according to reports from Australia and the UK. The departing co-founders are Waleed Mussa, who ran the company's finance, compliance and corporate affairs, and Yu Liu. The cuts come about six weeks after the company announced a large new funding package. Heidi did not say which of its markets would be affected.

An AI medical scribe is software that listens to a consultation between a doctor and a patient and writes up the clinical notes, letters and summaries that doctors would otherwise type themselves. Heidi, founded in Australia, sells its scribe to clinicians in several countries, including the UK. A cut of nearly a fifth of its staff so soon after raising money shows how quickly the AI health-tech market is changing.

The timing is the most striking part. Start-ups usually cut jobs when money runs short, not weeks after a funding round. When a well-funded company cuts staff, it is usually changing its plans: putting money into fewer products, fewer markets or a different kind of team. Kelly's words about "where to focus our team and investment" point in that direction, though the company has not set out its new priorities in detail.

Competition is part of the background. One Australian health publication linked the pressure to the US market, where Epic, the company that runs the electronic health records of most large US hospitals, launched its own AI scribe in February. When the maker of the records system offers a built-in scribe, independent scribe companies have to work harder to win hospital customers.

For people building careers in technology, the story is a reminder that jobs at AI companies are not automatically safe. AI start-ups are hiring in research, engineering and sales, but they are also quick to reorganise when competition or strategy shifts. The roles reported to be most affected here, research and development, customer support and sales, are the same kinds of roles that AI firms advertise most.

Peepals calculation: 18% of a workforce of about 600 is 108 roles (600 × 0.18 = 108), which matches the reported number, so Heidi will have roughly 490 or more staff after the cuts (600 − 108 = 492, on the "more than 600" figure). On the reported funding, the debt facility of US$240 million is 2.4 times the US$100 million equity round (240 / 100 = 2.4). Our calculation from the reported figures.

Short-term: About 108 employees lose their jobs, with research and development in Melbourne, customer support and sales reported to be hit hardest. Clinicians who use Heidi will watch for any change to support or product plans.

Long-term: The cuts suggest the AI scribe market is moving from rapid growth to a contest decided by a few large players, including record-system makers like Epic. Independent firms may focus on fewer markets or products to compete.

Who is affected: Heidi staff and job-seekers in health technology; doctors and hospitals that use AI scribes; investors in AI health start-ups; and engineers weighing jobs at fast-growing AI firms.

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