Equiti buys Lexi AI to expand healthcare language access

Equiti acquired Lexi AI to pair immediate multilingual AI support with Martti’s network of qualified medical interpreters across healthcare workflows. The move is aimed at helping hospitals and health systems improve patient communication, care delivery and operational performance.

Why it matters: - Equiti is betting that healthcare language access will increasingly require both AI and human interpreters, depending on the clinical situation and patient need. - The combined model is designed to improve patient understanding, support safer care, and help providers use language resources more efficiently. - Language access affects clinical outcomes, patient experience, workforce efficiency, and financial performance for healthcare organizations.

What happened: - Equiti announced on October 28, 2026, that it acquired Lexi, an award-winning healthcare AI language interpretation company. - The acquisition combines Lexi’s immediate AI language support with Martti’s network of qualified medical interpreters. - Equiti said the deal expands language access across the patient journey, from routine interactions to more complex encounters. - Lexi will operate alongside Martti under Equiti, with the teams working together on implementation and integration across healthcare workflows.

The details: - Lexi provides immediate AI interpretation in more than 35 languages and dialects. - Lexi offers integration options for EHR and phone workflows. - Through Martti, Equiti provides 24/7 access to qualified medical interpreters in more than 250 languages and dialects. - Martti’s interpreter network is backed by a 120-hour healthcare curriculum, annual continuing education, quality monitoring and specialized coaching. - Martti University provides accredited professional development for interpreters and other healthcare professionals involved in language access. - Equiti describes the combined model as Modality Matters™, which matches each encounter with the right modality. - The model uses AI for approved use cases and qualified medical interpreters when clinical complexity, regulatory requirements, organizational policy or patient preference requires human support. - Equiti said the approach can dynamically shift between modalities as communication needs change in real time. - The combined portfolio is meant to extend language access into everyday interactions that often go unsupported.

Between the lines: - The acquisition signals that Equiti sees language access as a workflow and performance issue, not just a translation service. - Equiti is positioning responsible AI as an addition to, not a replacement for, human interpretation. - The company is also trying to shape how healthcare organizations adopt AI in language services by centering patient safety and patient experience. - Lexi was built with healthcare customers to fit into existing devices and workflows, which may ease adoption inside provider organizations. - Lexi was founded by Linh Pham and Siddharth UR and won the 2025 Peter M. Sacerdote Grand Prize in the Harvard Business School New Venture Competition’s Social Enterprise Track.

What's next: - Equiti will work with each customer to decide how the combined solutions fit its language access program, clinical environment and organizational policies. - The company plans to continue integrating Lexi’s AI capabilities with Martti’s interpreter network across healthcare workflows. - Equiti expects the broader model to support more moments of care as healthcare organizations look for more connected language access options.

The bottom line: - Equiti is building a hybrid language access platform that pairs healthcare-specific AI with human interpreters to cover more patient encounters and more care settings.