Health Tech Startups Deploy AI to Overcome India's Preventive Care Apathy
Indian health tech startups are turning to artificial intelligence to address the country's widespread indifference toward preventive healthcare. Companies ranging from Tata 1mg to Fittr and Apollo Hospitals are investing heavily in AI tools designed to personalize care, accelerate analysis, and reduce costs.
Targeting a Growing Health Awareness
These platforms aim to capitalize on increasing health consciousness among Indians. According to a September 2025 report by Deloitte India and the Health & Fitness Association, India's fitness market is projected to more than double from an estimated ₹16,200 crore ($1.9 billion) in 2024 to ₹37,700 crore ($4.5 billion) by 2030. This represents an annual growth rate of 15%.
Praveen Govindu, partner at Deloitte India, noted, "We have close to 140 million people in India who are actively conscious about health. People are becoming more goal-oriented when it comes to health and fitness. It's no more general fitness—people have specific goals like running a marathon or participating in Hyrox."
AI Tools in Action
Several prominent companies have already rolled out AI-powered solutions:
- Tata 1mg launched a tool to read and interpret doctors' prescriptions, providing insights and recommendations. The company also partnered with ClickPost to use AI for automating last-mile delivery and supply chain functions. Gaurav Agarwal, co-founder of Tata 1mg, stated, "We've invested a few million dollars in enhancing our AI-powered tools. We'll look at expanding this investment based on near-term results."
- Fittr operates a digital coaching assistant that uses generative AI to personalize workout and diet plans. The company has invested significantly in end-to-end medical-report analysis using large language models (LLMs). Jitendra Chouksey, founder and CEO of Fittr, explained, "While exact numbers are confidential, the company's internal AI roadmap has been funded through a multi-year product and engineering investment."
- Healthify introduced a refined AI assistant that analyzes nutrition and exercise schedules using voice and camera access.
- Apollo Hospitals partnered with wellness platform OneBanc to use AI for lifestyle disease and stress management for enterprise clients.
Even OpenAI recently introduced ChatGPT for Healthcare, highlighting the growing momentum of AI adoption in the healthcare sector.
The Preventive Care Hurdle
Despite these advancements, winning and retaining engaged customers remains challenging in India. Preventive medicine retention rates are low, as many consumers view these apps as optional features.
Ankur Dhandharia, healthcare partner at EY Parthenon India, pointed out, "The preventive health and fitness sector has the potential to drive behavioral shifts from 'sick care' to 'true care'. However, growth and scalability have lagged due to a fragmented ecosystem driving customer churn, limited integration with trusted health data, misaligned behavioral incentives, and generic health trends versus personalized insights."
Common friction points include tracking fatigue, slow progress, unclear payoff, and overwhelming information. Additionally, concerns about the potential misuse of medical records persist. Deloitte's Govindu emphasized, "Whether you talk about gyms or specific health supplements, the challenge is stickiness. People will start, and then they'll stop."
Promising Early Results
While firms are hesitant to share specific user retention numbers, early signs of improvement are emerging. Over 30% of Tata 1mg's customers engage with its AI features, particularly report analysis. Agarwal remarked, "There's a lot of work in terms of monetization of these features that need to be worked out, but the initial traction is promising."
Fittr has seen up to 20% of its user base convert to paid plans since introducing AI coaches. Habit formation has increased, with more users actively returning to track meals and routines. Chouksey observed, "Users who receive personalized insights from medical reports, habit-risk alerts, or AI-generated contextual recommendations show meaningfully higher adherence and faster transition into routine building compared to those who rely only on generic diet plans."
These developments indicate a significant shift in how Indian health tech startups are leveraging AI to foster a culture of preventive care, despite the existing challenges.
