How Larkai Healthcare uses AI, IoT to bring hospital-grade care to India’s small towns
From portable ICU monitors to AI-powered diagnostics, Gurugram-based Larkai Healthcare is building affordable, made-in-India medical devices for the country’s most underserved regions.
In many parts of India, healthcare is far from being accessible, and patients often have to travel long distances for basic health checkups or monitoring. Larkai Healthcare is working to solve this problem with its portable patient monitor that helps small hospitals and clinics turn regular beds into mini ICUs.
“Even in remote areas with no doctors or medical facilities, our device can help set up a mini ICU,” says Abhilash Chakraverty, Co-founder of Larkai Healthcare, in a conversation with YourStory.
Founded in 2020, the Gurugram-based startup aims to make healthcare accessible, affordable, and connected. It has developed AI- and IoT-powered medical devices that digitise patient data and enable remote monitoring, bringing specialist-level care to small towns and rural hospitals.
Before Larkai, Chakraverty spent over 20 years at GE Healthcare, Philips, and 3M, building products for global medical markets. During this time, he realised that large multinationals, burdened by heavy overheads, struggled to deliver affordable medical devices in countries like India.
That insight connected him with Larkai’s founder, Pritam Dhalla, who had started the company in Bhubaneswar while studying at KIIT University. Incubated at the institute’s Technology Business Incubator, Larkai had been working on early prototypes when Chakraverty came on board as co-founder in 2022, helping scale the innovation and steer it toward real-world deployment.
The startup is headquartered at NASSCOM’s Center of Excellence - IoT and AI in Gurugram, with another office at the IIM Calcutta Innovation Park.
Building from India, for the world
Larkai ensures that each device meets global ISO 13485 standards for medical equipment, with all manufacturing and testing done in-house.
“Our hardware is completely designed and made in India. We own the design, the IP, and the quality control,” Chakraverty says.
Larkai operates across three verticals: diagnostics, monitoring, and analytics. Each is represented by a product line named after songbirds.
Its flagship device, WREN, is a compact, multi-parameter patient monitor that tracks ECG, blood pressure, oxygen levels, respiration, and temperature, functioning seamlessly in both ICUs and remote areas.
Its second product, WREN RealTime, is a transmission software that streams patient vitals from ambulances or remote sites to hospitals, enabling early intervention.
Meanwhile, BlueTail, an AI- and LLM-powered platform, analyses X-rays and ECGs to detect over 20 cardiopulmonary diseases, including tuberculosis, asthma, and heart anomalies, with 95% accuracy.
WREN detects, WREN RealTime transmits, and BlueTail analyses, creating a smart, connected, and continuous healthcare ecosystem, Chakraverty notes. The startup employs a 25-member team, including product engineers, AI developers, and sales professionals.
The power of AI in care
Larkai began building its own large language model (LLM) in 2020, well before generative AI became mainstream. “It took us five years to perfect our LLM. We trained it on extensive clinical datasets to ensure precision and safety for healthcare use,” Chakraverty says.
The AI model runs on AWS Cloud, processing medical images and signals through 12 proprietary algorithms to detect anomalies and provide diagnostic interpretations in under a minute. It also integrates with India’s Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) framework.
If a patient enters their ABHA number (unique health ID), the results are automatically stored in their DigiLocker and can be accessed anywhere in India. “So, if you do an ECG in Kolkata and an X-ray in Bengaluru, both get linked to your ABHA profile,” Chakraverty says. “Your health records travel with you.”
This integration not only improves continuity of care but also supports early detection and trend analysis. “Our AI can compare your ECGs from the last three years and flag any early signs of heart stress or vessel narrowing, much before it turns into a cardiac emergency.”
Revenue model and customers
Larkai follows a B2B model, selling primarily to hospitals, diagnostic chains, and healthcare service providers. Its software is also licensed through APIs and SDKs to ambulance companies, radiology centres, and home-care operators that want to make their existing hardware “smart”.
The startup began commercial operations in 2023, with its first client, Cardiomyo Hospital in Cuttack. Now, it works with more than 120 hospitals, including AIIMS New Delhi, NHAI Emergency Rescue Team, Kolkata Police, and many air and road ambulance operators.
Larkai’s revenue comes from hardware sales and SaaS subscriptions. The WREN monitor, for instance, is priced at around Rs 50,000. For BlueTail, the startup offers two subscription models: quarterly for Rs 1,500 and annual for Rs 7,500.
Chakraverty says the startup does not chase luxury hospitals, going “where the need is greatest, in Tier II and Tier III cities, where a Rs 50,000 device can transform a hospital”.
In 2023, the startup raised around $500,000 from investors, including FAAD Network, QI Ventures, RTAF, plus some government grants. In FY25, Larkai Healthcare earned about Rs 8 crore in revenue.
Challenges and competition
Larkai competes with global giants like Philips, GE, Schiller, and several Chinese brands. Also in India, startups like Qure.ai and Endimension Technology use AI to read X-rays and ECGs, but Chakraverty believes the startup's true edge lies in accessibility and localisation, building advanced medical devices designed for India’s unique healthcare needs.
“These companies have been selling legacy devices since the 1980s with little innovation,” Chakraverty says. “Our edge lies in affordability and adaptability; we tailor alarms, interfaces, and workflows for Indian hospitals.”
Like most deeptech startups, Larkai faced challenges ranging from component sourcing to regulatory approvals. “India’s electronics manufacturing ecosystem is still developing,” Chakraverty says, adding that many hospitals still prefer USFDA-certified devices despite India’s equivalent CDSCO certification. “We’ve applied for the USFDA certification and expect approval next year, but awareness is improving.”
To win trust, the team often runs extended pilot trials before hospitals commit. “Our six-month trial at AIIMS paid off; it gave them confidence and us credibility,” Chakraverty says.
Looking ahead
The startup is preparing to launch Magpie, an AI-connected diabetes monitoring tool designed to predict and prevent diabetes by spotting early biomarkers. Currently in trials, it is expected to debut next year.
Larkai is also planning to expand beyond India into Southeast Asia and Africa, targeting healthcare systems with similar affordability gaps. Its focus will remain on connected care and AI-driven diagnostics across cardiology, radiology, and now diabetology.
According to Fortune Business Insights reports, India’s medical device market is expected to grow to $34.84 billion by 2032, with a CAGR of roughly 11.6%. “Our goal is to capture 10% of this market within three years,” Chakraverty remarks.