Tempus AI is a healthcare technology company developing artificial intelligence–driven precision medicine applications. By integrating clinical and molecular data into a comprehensive knowledge platform, Tempus enables physicians to make real-time, data-informed decisions. Its core mission is to ensure that every patient benefits from the experiences and data of those who came before, advancing personalized and targeted treatment strategies.

History

Tempus was founded in 2015 by Eric Lefkofsky after his wife, Elizabeth Lefkofsky, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Motivated to integrate AI and technology into cancer care, Lefkofsky established the company with Ryan Fukushima as its first employee. Initially focused on oncology, Tempus has since expanded into neuropsychiatry, cardiology, radiology, and infectious diseases. The company is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Technological Platforms

Tempus operates within a framework it calls “Precision Medicine 2.0”—an AI-based healthcare ecosystem designed to accelerate clinical decision-making and research. Its primary platforms include:

• Tempus Hub: A digital system allowing healthcare professionals to manage genetic and clinical tests, access results, and build patient cohorts.
• Tempus One: A generative AI–powered clinical assistant integrated with electronic health records (EHRs).
• Tempus Lens: An AI analytics engine linking real-world data and organoid models to identify biomarkers and validate therapeutic targets.
• Tempus Pixel: An AI imaging platform used in radiology for diseases such as lung, breast, cardiac, and prostate conditions; includes automated lesion segmentation and longitudinal tracking.
• Tempus Next: An AI-powered care pathway system that identifies treatment gaps and guides patients to appropriate diagnosis and therapy.
• Tempus Merlin: An algorithmic assay combining gene expression and clinicopathological data to predict recurrence and biopsy risk in melanoma patients.

Clinical and Research Applications

Tempus collaborates with over 3,000 healthcare institutions, maintaining more than 8 million de-identified patient records and over 600 direct data integrations. Its AI models support diagnosis, treatment, and research in oncology, neurology, cardiology, and psychiatry.

The company’s Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) laboratories are CAP-accredited and CLIA-certified, enabling a wide range of genomic tests, including:

• Tempus xT: 648-gene targeted sequencing panel
• Tempus xE: Whole exome sequencing
• Tempus xR: Transcriptome analysis
• Tempus xF/xF+: Liquid biopsy panels

Tempus also provides multi-omic technologies, including methylation profiling, single-cell sequencing, proteomics, and spatial transcriptomics.

The Tempus | M laboratory uses patient-derived tumor organoids to study the effects of genomic alterations on treatment response and immune evasion, supporting biomarker discovery and drug sensitivity analysis.

Partnerships

Tempus maintains partnerships with over 200 biopharmaceutical companies and leading U.S. healthcare institutions. Collaborations with AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Genmab, BioNTech, GSK, Bristol Myers Squibb, Bayer, and Takeda focus on biomarker-driven therapies, clinical trial design, and real-world data analytics.

In cardiovascular medicine, Tempus developed FDA-approved algorithms such as ECG-AF and ECG-Low EF, which detect atrial fibrillation and low ejection fraction risk through electrocardiogram data analysis. In neuropsychiatry, the Tempus nP pharmacogenomic test personalizes drug selection and dosing for conditions such as depression, anxiety, and ADHD.

The TIME Trial® Program accelerates patient access to biomarker-driven clinical trials by using pre-approved IRB protocols and standardized contracting frameworks, reducing trial initiation time from months to weeks.

Corporate Structure and Culture

Tempus’s leadership team includes Eric Lefkofsky (CEO), Ryan Fukushima (COO), and Kate Sasser (Chief Scientific Officer). The company’s cultural values are summarized as Time, Patients, Perspective, Learning, Respect, and Saving Lives. In 2024, Tempus was recognized by Built In as one of the “Top Places to Work.”

Scientific Vision

Tempus AI combines large-scale clinical and molecular datasets with advanced AI algorithms to expand the practical applications of precision medicine. Its integrated, data-centric infrastructure enhances diagnostic accuracy, treatment efficacy, and clinical research efficiency—advancing the broader transformation of healthcare into a predictive, personalized, and learning-based system.