Former DOGE Staffers Launch Startup Targeting Elder Care
Justin Fox and Nate Cavanaugh, who previously worked at the Department of Government Efficiency, announced the launch of Special, a holding company that plans to acquire businesses and apply an AI operating system. The company’s first project is Figure Health, which will operate senior-care facilities in Dallas, Miami, and Chicago.
finance.yahoo.comJustin Fox and Nate Cavanaugh, two former Department of Government Efficiency staffers, launched Special last week as a holding company that will acquire businesses and apply an AI-powered operating system. ” Special received funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Human Capital, and several Musk associates, including Steve Davis.
The company said it is under contract with an unnamed Texas health-care provider that serves more than 1,400 patients and employs hundreds of nurses. Fox and Cavanaugh described Figure Health’s approach as using AI tools to reduce administrative tasks, allowing saved funds to increase nurse pay and improve care for seniors.
During their time at DOGE, Cavanaugh served as acting president of the United States Institute of Peace and acting director of the Interagency Council on Homelessness. Court records show he placed staff on administrative leave and attempted to transfer the institute’s building to the federal government; that case remains ongoing.
Fox and Cavanaugh also oversaw the termination of grants at the National Endowment for the Humanities. Deposition videos released by the American Historical Association show the pair categorized grants as “Craziest Grants” and “Other Bad Grants” and used ChatGPT to identify terms related to DEI.
In one video clip included in Special’s launch video, Cavanaugh was asked whether DOGE reduced the federal deficit from $2 trillion to near zero.
