IVF Automation: The Most Human Story About Robots and AI
Bloomberg Businessweek spent two years following Conceivable's journey from prototype to clinical reality. What they found was more personal than anyone expected.
Read the full Bloomberg Businessweek feature →
When Bloomberg's Sarah Frier first reached out two years ago, she had a straightforward question: Could AI-powered robots actually make human embryos better than highly trained embryologists?
For two years, she investigated whether IVF automation could solve fertility care's biggest challenges—access, consistency, and scale.
What she ended up writing was something she described as "the most human story about robots and AI" she's ever covered.
Published in Bloomberg Businessweek, Frier's feature traces Conceivable's journey from a bold idea—automating the more than 200 intricate microscopic procedures of IVF—to clinical operations at Hope IVF in Mexico City, where Conceivable has now helped bring 19 babies into the world.
Why This Story About Automated Embryology Took Two Years
As Frier explains in her reflection on the piece: "My day job is to oversee Bloomberg News's big tech coverage, and these days, that's an AI investing story. More data centers, more hiring, more deals, more proclamations from leaders preparing for a future that is going to be very different. But what exactly will change about our world because of the tech industry's advancements?"
She found her answer in an unlikely place: our fertility startup using algorithms derived from self-driving car technology to guide sperm to eggs, and ultra-precise robots from tech hardware manufacturing to manipulate individual cells.
But the real story wasn't just the technology.
When Your Investor Becomes Your IVF Patient
The piece showcases Aike Ho, a partner at Acme Capital who led Conceivable's seed round in 2022. Three years of research had convinced her that automated embryology was "the only type of fertility innovation that seemed venture-backable." But her connection to the company went deeper than financial thesis.
A thyroid cancer survivor who worried about her own fertility, Ho had been methodically investigating IVF from both sides—as a potential patient and potential investor. When she met co-founders Joshua Abram and Alan Murray (both cancer survivors themselves), the connection was immediate. "We all have a pretty similar lease on life because of that," she told Frier.
What happened next surprised everyone: Ho and her partner Camilla Hermann decided to participate in Conceivable's first human trials, using AURA prototypes to create their embryos in Guadalajara.
Most people don't witness the exact moment their children are conceived. But Ho and Hermann put on scrubs and watched through glass as robots inseminated Ho's eggs while Conceivable team members joined via Zoom from New York, London, and Mexico City. "There was something romantic, even spiritual, about the moment," Ho recalled.
Of the five embryos the robots created, two matured into blastocysts. The embryologist graded both as highest-quality. Hermann became pregnant with one of them in January.
"She invested her dreams."
— Alejandro Chavez-Badiola, Conceivable Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer
As Alejandro Chavez-Badiola, Conceivable's co-founder and Chief Medical Officer, reflected: "Early investors put tremendous faith in the people, the team, the project. It's an act of trust—but in the end, they're investing money. What Aike did was beyond that. She invested her dreams."
The Hardest Timeline
The Bloomberg piece doesn't shy away from complexity. In June, while 22 weeks pregnant, Hermann was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism at Stanford's emergency room—a rare but treatable complication. She recovered with medication and monitoring.
Then came news that would reshape everything: Joshua Abram's cancer had returned.
Abram, the company's chairman and co-founder, had been fighting multiple myeloma for two decades. His "bonus time" had inspired the entire venture—he'd spent years in cancer treatment facilities observing lab processes, discussing what he saw with Alan Murray during their shared cab rides home. Those observations became the seed of both TMRW (their egg, sperm, and embryo storage company) and eventually Conceivable.
Now, as the Series A round was closing, Abram was deteriorating quickly. In her last call with him, Ho said he delivered what felt like a will—outlining the roadmap and asking her to keep watch.
Abram's final request to Murray was to ensure Conceivable reached "excellence at scale."
"What do you mean when you say 'scale'?" Murray asked.
"Sixty-five percent of all IVF births are Conceivable babies."
— Joshua Abram's vision for scale
"Sixty-five percent of all IVF births are Conceivable babies," Abram responded.
That same week, there was a baby shower for a Conceivable employee. "In the midst of the celebration," Murray later wrote to the board, "I received notice from counsel that the round was closed, and wires had been received." The $50 million Series A brought Conceivable's total funding to $70 million. "Ten minutes later, I received the text from Joshua's son."
Five weeks later, Hermann and Ho welcomed a healthy baby girl in Brooklyn, becoming Conceivable's first American patients with a baby.
The IVF Automation Technology Question That Started It All
Frier's investigation began with technical skepticism: Could robots actually outperform skilled embryologists at manipulating individual cells?
What she documented was an automated embryology system that combines precision engineering with clinical rigor:
Machine vision from automotive safety driving pipettes at microscopic scale
Advanced microscopy from ophthalmology improving oocyte selection
Technology from chip manufacturing enabling unprecedented micro-manipulation
AI algorithms selecting sperm and tracking embryo development
The AURA's 30 adjustments per second at distances as small as a thousandth of a millimeter. Cryopreservation 50 times faster than state-of-the-art, reducing ice crystal formation tenfold. Complete traceability of every procedure—something no manual embryologist can provide.
But the piece also captures industry skepticism. Some embryologists worried about job loss. Others questioned whether standardization would eliminate the artisanal approach that defines high-end fertility care. Lab director Alison Coates told Frier: "I think we're spinning our wheels on this AI and robot stuff being some kind of magic bullet."
From Concierge Medicine to Population Health: Scaling Fertility Care
The Bloomberg feature positions Conceivable within the broader fertility access crisis. With 1 in 6 people of reproductive age facing infertility globally, and IVF costs averaging $20,000-$30,000 per cycle in the US, the current system serves roughly 20% of Americans who need it.
A 2023 paper in Fertility and Sterility estimated true global demand at 20 million IVF births annually—requiring over a billion individual lab processes each year. Attempting to meet that need with today's manual approach is impossible from both labor and infrastructure perspectives.
IVF automation isn't about replacing embryologists—it's about amplifying their impact. One senior embryologist with two technicians monitoring AURA could oversee work that currently requires a team of at least ten.
What Comes Next for Automated Embryology
Conceivable's 125-patient IRB study at Hope IVF continues, with results expected later this year. The company is in discussions with both academic medical centers and PE-backed clinic networks for US market entry.
But the Bloomberg piece asks a question that matters more than timelines: "Would you trust a robot lab with your embryos?"
For Aike Ho and Camilla Hermann, the answer was yes—and it changed their lives. For the 18 other families who've welcomed babies created by AURA's prototypes, the technology has moved from theoretical to deeply personal.
As Alan Murray noted in his reflection on the piece: "Aike told me her daughter wouldn't be here without Conceivable. And I believe Conceivable wouldn't be where we are without Aike. This has been the definition of 'doing life' together."
That's what Sarah Frier captured over two years of reporting—not just a story about AI and robotics transforming fertility care, but about the humans who trusted the technology with their most intimate dreams.
Interested in learning more about how IVF automation could transform your practice? Connect with our team to explore Conceivable's technology.
Read the full Bloomberg Businessweek feature: Bloomberg Businessweek
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