India Enters The Healthtech 2.0 Era

Two months ago, we identified an inflexion point in India’s health ecosystem – the early emergence of healthtech 2.0. As we reported then, the new era for the sector heralds the pivot from episodic care to longevity, prevention, and continuous health optimisation. 

What started as a founder-driven, startup-led movement has now caught the attention of global tech giants. Over the past month, this shift has crystallised even more.

In quick succession, two major global platforms launched health-focused services in India last month. OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT Health, a dedicated interface that can integrate health trackers and help users maintain electronic medical records. Apple launched Fitness+ in India, expanding its subscription-based fitness and wellness offerings.

Individually, these launches may appear small. However, together, they signal something structural – global big tech giants are viewing India not just as a device market but as a services-led health and wellness opportunity.

Why India, Why Now?

OpenAI’s launch note for ChatGPT Health highlighted that health and wellness already rank among the most common use cases for the chatbot, generating hundreds of millions of queries weekly. 

India’s relevance is obvious. The country, while being ChatGPT’s second-largest market globally, continues to grapple with a chronically low doctor-to-population ratio. In this context, a conversational AI-driven health interface is less of a novelty and more of a necessity.

Apple’s move is equally revealing, although historically aberrant. Despite India being one of its fastest-growing hardware markets, the big tech major has time and again delayed rolling out its services stack in the country, from Apple Pay and satellite-based Emergency SOS to Apple News, and, until recently, Fitness+. 

This reluctance seems to be easing. In 2025, Apple Watch shipments to India surged 141% YoY, signalling wearables are mainstream health tools for urban consumers, not niche accessories. 

Launching Fitness+ now lets Apple monetise engagement beyond devices and deepen health ecosystem lock-in.

Adding to this momentum is global fitness company Whoop, which recently launched its 5.0 wearable in India after strong demand for earlier models. The signal is clear – premium, health-first wearables, which are focussed on longevity, are gaining traction.

From Health Care To Longevity Science

What makes this moment distinctive isn’t just the arrival of global players, but the parallel evolution of Indian healthtech startups. Over the past year, homegrown new-age tech ventures in the space have moved beyond teleconsultation and rapid diagnostics to extending healthspan.

Temple, a wearable venture founded by Eternal founder Deepinder Goyal, is developing a device that can monitor blood flow to the brain, an area traditionally ignored in consumer health devices. 

The device emerged from Goyal’s research arm, Continuity Research, which published a hypothesis suggesting gravity may play a role in human ageing by reducing blood flow to the brain by as much as 17% when upright. While not attributing gravity as the sole ageing factor, the study illustrates that Indian startups are engaging with first-principles science and are also focussing on longevity.

Similarly, Biopeak Health, founded by Rishi Pardal and Shiva Subramanian, has developed a platform that is centreed on high-resolution health assessments. Its model integrates cellular-level data, advanced imaging, AI-driven insights, and physical clinics to deliver personalised long-term health guidance. 

Biopeak’s ambition isn’t episodic care but continuous vitality management, positioning itself between preventive healthcare and applied longevity science.

Similarly, Gurugram-based Sychedelic entered the neuro-modulation space with its smart headphones designed to improve sleep and focus, while tracking heart rate and stress. 

Consumer-facing startups like Ultrahuman, Gabit, Noise, and FITTR are also pushing beyond smartwatches into smart rings, lowering friction for first-time users.

“Longevity is a macro trend globally and in India. People want to live healthier for the time they live, not just live for 100 years but live healthier for 100 years,” Gaurav Gupta, the cofounder and CEO of Gabit said. 

The Affluence Constraint

Yet, despite the momentum, a fundamental hurdle remains. 

Most Healthtech 2.0 solutions – especially those embedded with advanced hardware, AI-driven insights or clinical infrastructure – are expensive to build and costly to adopt. Consequently, the primary addressable market for such products today remains affluent, urban consumers.

This creates a paradox. While the long-term vision is population-scale impact, the near-term survival of these ventures depends on premium pricing and limited volumes. Economies of scale haven’t yet materialised, and many models face durability questions without sustained external capital.

For now, services like ChatGPT Health and Apple Fitness+ may act as gateways, nudging users toward greater health awareness and eventually higher-end wearables, or longevity-focussed services, but mass adoption seems elusive.

For now, the critical question isn’t whether India is entering Healthtech 2.0, but where the next breakthrough will come from.

With inputs from Gaurav Bagur

Edited By Shishir Parasher