India / Singapore / Malaysia, July 02, 2026 : IHH Healthcare (IHH), the world’s leading multinational healthcare provider, together with its subsidiary Fortis Healthcare, today announced the winners of the inaugural IHH Catalyst | Fortis India Edition, marking a significant step towards accelerating healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship in India.
At the IHH Catalyst | Fortis India Edition Demo Day, 10 high-potential healthcare startups presented their solutions before an eminent jury comprising healthcare leaders, clinicians, investors and industry experts, following a structured 12-week accelerator programme involving mentorship, clinical validation, operational refinement and real-world testing opportunities within the Fortis ecosystem.
The following startups were declared winners based on evaluation across four key criteria: team, level of innovation, impact and scalability, and business potential. The framework recognised startups demonstrating strong clinical relevance, implementation readiness and the potential to address real-world healthcare challenges at scale.
Winners of IHH Catalyst | Fortis India Edition 2026
Winner: eNext ICU – The startup is addressing the critical shortage of intensivists, particularly in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, through a 24×7 Tele-ICU platform that enables remote monitoring and management of critically-ill patients by experienced specialists. Complemented by simulation-based training for doctors and nurses, the solution has demonstrated improved clinical outcomes and has the potential to expand access to high-quality critical care in underserved regions.
First Runner-Up: RNT Health Insights – The startup is developing AI-powered medical devices that enhance the early detection of upper gastrointestinal (GI) cancers during routine endoscopic procedures. By providing real-time clinical decision support, the solution acts as an intelligent second set of eyes, helping clinicians identify subtle lesions that may otherwise be missed, improve diagnostic accuracy, ensure comprehensive visualisation, and standardise reporting. The technology has the potential to enable earlier diagnosis, improve patient outcomes, and reduce the clinical and economic burden associated with advanced-stage GI cancers.
Second Runner-Up: Cartogene Therapeutics – The startup is making advanced CAR-T cell therapy more accessible and affordable for patients with blood cancers in India. This solution significantly reduces the vein-to-vein treatment timeline to around 8 – 10 days, enabling faster treatment for patients with aggressive cancers while maintaining high clinical and manufacturing standards. By improving access to timely, high-efficacy immunotherapy, the innovation has the potential to enhance patient outcomes, streamline hospital workflows, and expand the availability of advanced cancer care across the country.
Launched in February, this year as the first regional edition of IHH Healthcare’s global incubator platform, the programme received an overwhelming response from the healthcare startup ecosystem, attracting 195 applications from across India. Following a rigorous multi-stage evaluation process, 10 startups were selected for the inaugural cohort.
The ten startups selected for the inaugural cohort were:
• Cartogene Therapeutics
• CarePal Money
• Tatvacare
• MicroHeal
• RNT Health Insights
• Nalagenetics
• Sunfox Technologies
• eNext ICU
• Kubo Care
• Cureous Labs
Collectively, the inaugural cohort showcased promising innovations across the programme’s five priority areas, spanning patient journey and workflows, preventative and predictive care, chronic disease management, multidisciplinary care and oncology. Together, they reflect the breadth of healthcare innovation progressing towards clinical validation and real-world adoption within the Fortis ecosystem.
Throughout the programme, startups worked closely with Fortis clinicians, operational leaders and functional experts to refine their solutions, validate use cases, and explore pathways for deployment within real healthcare environments. The programme provided access to mentorship, clinical expertise, hospital infrastructure, regulatory guidance, cybersecurity frameworks, interoperability support, and commercialisation pathways.
Speaking at the event, Ashok Pandit, Group Chief Corporate Officer, IHH Healthcare, said, “Healthcare is entering a defining era where innovation, technology and collaboration are redefining the future of patient care. Through IHH Catalyst, we are creating a platform that enables innovators to work alongside clinicians and healthcare providers to solve real-world healthcare challenges. The quality of solutions demonstrated by this inaugural cohort reinforces our belief that partnerships are the driving force to push the boundaries of healthcare innovation and deliver next-level care for our patients.”
Dr Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, Managing Director & CEO, Fortis Healthcare, said, “The future of healthcare will be shaped by solutions that improve patient outcomes while enhancing accessibility, efficiency and scalability. The ten startups selected for the inaugural cohort demonstrated exceptional promise and a deep understanding of healthcare challenges. Through IHH Catalyst, our objective is not to identify promising startups, but also to help them validate, deploy and scale solutions that can transform healthcare delivery. We congratulate all participating startups and especially the winners for their outstanding achievement.”
Elizabeth Han, Group Innovation Head, IHH Healthcare,said, “At IHH, we believe innovation must move beyond ideas and pilots to create measurable impact for patients and healthcare systems. IHH Catalyst was established to bridge this gap by providing innovators access to clinical expertise, healthcare infrastructure, and strategic partnerships. The success of the inaugural Fortis India Edition demonstrates the immense potential of India’s healthcare innovation ecosystem and reinforces our commitment to nurturing solutions that can improve access, quality, efficiency, and patient outcomes not only in India, but across the wider IHH network globally.”
Dr Ritu Garg, Chief Growth & Innovation Officer, Fortis Healthcare, said, “Receiving 195 applications in the very first edition reflects the tremendous innovation potential that exists within India’s healthcare ecosystem. Over the past three months, these startups have worked closely with our clinical and operational teams to strengthen their solutions and test them against real-world healthcare needs. Demo Day marks an important milestone, but for these entrepreneurs, it is only the beginning of their growth journey towards scaling impact across healthcare.”
India is home to one of the world’s fastest-growing healthcare startup ecosystems. However, many innovations struggle to move beyond pilot stages to large-scale adoption. IHH Catalyst has been designed to address this gap by connecting innovators with healthcare providers, clinical expertise, hospital infrastructure and strategic partners, creating a structured pathway from innovation to implementation.
As the India anchor partner, Fortis Healthcare played a key role in enabling startups to test and refine their solutions within real healthcare environments. Through access to clinicians, hospital teams and operational leaders, startups were able to gain valuable insights into practical healthcare challenges and strengthen the scalability and relevance of their innovations.
Building on the success of the inaugural cohort, IHH Healthcare and Fortis Healthcare plan to continue supporting future editions of the programme, creating opportunities for innovators to access clinical expertise, healthcare infrastructure, and global networks across the broader IHH ecosystem. As the platform continues its regional expansion, the next edition of IHH Catalyst is set to take place in Hong Kong, further strengthening cross-market collaboration and creating new opportunities for startups to scale innovations across IHH Healthcare’s international network.
The initiative reinforces both IHH Healthcare and Fortis Healthcare’s shared commitment to accelerating innovation-led healthcare transformation and scaling solutions that can improve patient outcomes, enhance operational efficiency, and strengthen healthcare delivery across India and beyond.
