Startups helping India breathe easy

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Oxygen saturation levels are an important part of the screening and testing process of COVID-19 patients and can help detect ‘COVID pneumonia’ early on. 

In fact, pulse oxygen readings below 95 percent indicate a lung problem, and below 92-90 percent may require supplemental oxygen, which is currently in short supply throughout the country. 

While a few years ago, renewable energy sector-focused startup Exalta was tinkering around with an innovation called a ‘solar oxygen tree’ — a way to produce oxygen using regenerative energy — little did the team know the invention will prove most useful during one of the country’s worst healthcare crises ever. 

Exalta’s mini portable oxygen concentrator — produced locally in Noida — is a handy device that, using water and through the process of electrolysis, produces oxygen. 

The mini ventilator provides up to eight litres of oxygen per minute and does not require any special set-up, except for electricity and RO or distilled water.

"Our oxygen concentrators not only give you cost benefit but also the convenience of not depending on vendors for the supply or filling of oxygen cylinders," says Ashutosh Verma, Founder of Exalta.

The made-in-India devices cost between Rs 20,000 and Rs 40,000 and can be used by individuals, healthcare organisations, and nursing homes.

Read about how the Indian startup ecosystem is battling the second wave of COVID-19 here.

The Interview

MIT students Shriya Srinivasan and Rajib Mondal's Project Prana is making multiplex ventilators called iSave that will be priced at Rs 45,000. 

Made out of Chennai, these ventilators can connect one ventilator to two patients, can be customised, and control the parameters as well. Read more.

Editor’s Pick: App Fridays

Founded in 2013, TrulyMadly claims to be designed for individuals who want to find ‘love’ and potentially lifelong relationships. 

Now, amidst the deadly second COVID-19 wave, the app is aiming for something bigger. TrulyMadly has started offering a plasma matching feature, which pops up while you are going through the profiles. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

These former Facebook engineers aim to build the Netflix of audio platforms

In 2020, when the pandemic forced many to be housebound, it was not just bread baking and binge-watching that caught on. There was a new favourite on the horizon — podcasts! Riding the wave were former Facebook software engineers, Pratham Khandelwal and Yogesh Sharma, who launched Headfone, a social audio platform in 2017, to cater to Indian users. Read more.

News & Updates

• Walmart, Flipkart, and PhonePe will donate up to 20 oxygen-generating plants and 20 cryogenic containers for oxygen storage and transportation, and over 3,000 oxygen concentrators and 500 oxygen cylinders to India.

• Quick Ride has launched a COVID care feature on its app, which can be used to connect people who have medical resources to those who are in need of them. These include oximeters, oxygen concentrator, oxygen cylinder, medical beds, plasma, ambulance, and food to the patient.

• Urban Company has set up Mohit Agrawal COVID-19 Relief Fund to provide medical assistance and bereavement support to the company's service partners and their families amid these unprecedented times.

• Facebook is partnering with the Indian government to roll out a vaccine finder tool on its mobile app in India, which will help people identify places nearby to get inoculated. Earlier, Facebook had announced a $10 million grant for India's emergency response efforts.

• Udaan has announced an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) liquidity programme worth about Rs 175 crore. According to sources, the size of the ESOP programme was about Rs 175 crore.

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

“Through this portable oxygen concentrator, we aim to serve more and more people during this time of difficulty and help people in the best possible way we can. Oxygen is the need of the hour, and we’re proud of our product because it is helpful and 100 percent made in India,” 

— Ashutosh Verma, Founder, Exalta

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