Overview: What Is Tempus AI?
Tempus AI is a precision medicine platform that combines large-scale genomic sequencing, AI-driven multimodal analytics, and a generative AI clinical assistant called Tempus One. Founded in 2015 by Eric Lefkofsky in Chicago, Tempus has built one of the largest clinical and molecular datasets in healthcare and partners with more than half of US oncologists and the majority of top 20 global pharmaceutical companies. Tempus is publicly traded on NASDAQ as TEM and projected $1.59B in revenue for 2026.
Tempus is not a single product but a platform: genomic testing panels (xT for tumor DNA, xR for tumor RNA, xF for liquid biopsy), AI diagnostic tools spanning oncology, cardiology and radiology (Tempus Pixel for cardiac MRI, ECG-Low EF for cardiac AI), and Tempus One, the generative AI assistant embedded directly into Epic and other EHRs that lets clinicians query a patient's clinical and molecular history in natural language. The differentiator is the combination — no other vendor offers genomic testing, FDA-cleared diagnostic AI, and embedded generative AI under one roof.
Key Features
- AI-driven precision medicine platform
- Genomic sequencing and molecular profiling (xT, xR, xF panels)
- Tempus One generative AI clinical assistant
- AI-powered cardiac imaging (Tempus Pixel)
- ECG AI analysis (ECG-Low EF)
- Real-time clinical trial matching
- Integrated treatment decision support with clinical guidelines
- Large-scale multimodal clinical and molecular data library
FDA Status & Clinical Validation
Tempus has multiple FDA 510(k) clearances, which is relatively rare in the AI health space. Tempus xT is a cleared in-vitro diagnostic for DNA next-generation sequencing. Tempus xR IVD received clearance in September 2025 for RNA NGS. Tempus Pixel is a cleared cardiac MRI AI tool. Tempus ECG-Low EF detects reduced ejection fraction from a standard ECG. This portfolio of cleared products is one of the strongest regulatory positions in the AI diagnostic space, alongside Aidoc and Viz.ai.
Beyond FDA, Tempus has extensive peer-reviewed literature and partnerships with the top 20 pharmaceutical companies for clinical trials and real-world evidence generation. The data assets are arguably the company's most valuable property — the combined clinical, molecular, and imaging data on millions of patients is the substrate that the AI tools are trained on.
Pricing
Tempus does not publish standard pricing because it is a multi-product platform with very different revenue models per product. Genomic tests are reimbursed per-exam by Medicare and commercial payers, with the Medicare NTAP rate around $601-$700 per exam in 2026 depending on the specific assay. Platform licensing for health systems is custom and negotiated. Pharmaceutical data partnerships are bespoke. For an oncology practice evaluating Tempus, the practical question is whether your payer mix will cover the test reimbursement — not whether you can budget a flat monthly fee.
Tempus One: The Generative AI Layer
Tempus One is the generative AI clinical assistant that ships embedded into Epic (via the Genomics module) and other major EHRs. It lets clinicians query patient data in natural language: "Show me this patient's actionable mutations and matched clinical trials." It is purpose-built for oncology workflow and grounded in Tempus's underlying clinical and molecular dataset. This is where Tempus differs structurally from competitors like Foundation Medicine that offer testing without a generative AI layer.
Pros & Cons
Strengths
- ✓ Multiple FDA 510(k) clearances across genomics and cardiac AI
- ✓ Largest multimodal clinical and molecular dataset in oncology
- ✓ Tempus One generative AI embedded in Epic Genomics
- ✓ Partners with majority of top 20 global pharma companies
- ✓ Publicly traded with regulatory transparency
Weaknesses
- ✗ Complex product portfolio can be confusing to buyers
- ✗ Primarily oncology-focused — less relevant for general practice
- ✗ Enterprise procurement complexity
- ✗ Not yet profitable (projecting first positive EBITDA in 2026)
- ✗ Expensive genomic testing vs simpler AI tools
Who Should Evaluate Tempus?
Tempus is built for oncology practices, academic medical centers running molecular tumor boards, cardiology departments evaluating Tempus Pixel and ECG-Low EF, and pharma companies needing real-world data partnerships. It is also relevant for any health system that wants generative AI embedded in oncology Epic workflows. It is not appropriate for general primary care, small practices without oncology volume, or organizations looking for a single ambient AI scribe (see Abridge or Freed instead).
Verdict
Tempus AI is the most ambitious AI platform in oncology and one of the most clinically credentialed AI companies in healthcare overall. The combination of FDA-cleared diagnostics, large-scale genomic data, and embedded generative AI is genuinely differentiated. For oncology programs evaluating precision medicine vendors, Tempus belongs on the short list alongside Foundation Medicine, Caris, and Guardant. For any other use case, the platform is overscoped. We recommend Tempus for oncology and cardiac AI buyers and direct other clinical workflows to category-specific tools.