Even Healthcare, an Indian health-tech startup, has secured $50 million in an all-equity Series B round led by Khosla Ventures, with Alpha Wave also investing. The funding values Even at $300 million—a threefold increase since its last valuation 18 months earlier—and lifts its total capital raised to over $120 million. The company plans to use the new funds to scale its own network of hospitals and take deeper control of care delivery and cost structures.
Why Even Rejects Traditional Hospital Incentives
In many Indian hospitals, fees are driven up when patients are encouraged to undergo more procedures, tests, or extended stays—often irrespective of actual medical need. Even Healthcare aims to flip that paradigm by focusing on patient well-being and clinical outcomes rather than the volume of services provided. Initially, Even partnered with existing hospitals to serve its members, but founders concluded that system incentives were misaligned—and that tests and surgeries were sometimes unnecessary. To reform hospital economics, it decided to build its own facilities.
Running Model Hospitals: Salaries, Outcomes & Profitability
Even now operates at least two hospitals in Bengaluru—both of which achieved operational profitability (excluding depreciation) within a year. Eight more are in the works in that city over the coming six months. The startup leases buildings under long-term (20-year) agreements, outfits them with medical equipment, and employs doctors on fixed salaries. Physician performance bonuses are tied to patient-reported outcomes—not to numbers of tests or surgeries. Management teams likewise have compensation mechanisms decoupled from procedural volume. Equity is offered company-wide to align everyone’s incentives with long-term quality and cost-efficiency.
Performance & Financials
Even monitors recovery using widely accepted scoring systems. In knee replacement cases, it publishes Oxford Knee Scores on its website and benchmarks its outcomes against other providers. The startup reports an unplanned readmission rate under 1%, far lower than the industry average of 8% to 15%. Patients spend about 40% less time in hospital, and insurers have saved over ₹500 million (≈US$5.27 million).
Despite strong metrics, Even is not yet profitable at a net level. In fiscal 2025, it recorded a loss of ₹902 million (≈US$9.50 million) on revenue roughly ₹272 million (≈US$2.86 million), with losses edging about 25% higher year-over-year. This summer, Even reduced staff by around 350 people—part of a restructuring that included severance packages, extended health insurance, and accelerated equity vesting for those impacted. The company currently employs about 650 people, approximately 300 of whom are full-time doctors. It claims a member base of about 250,000 and more than 750,000 patient interactions since its 2021 launch.
Looking Ahead: Growth Over Immediate Profits
Even says it could turn profitable within months if it halted expansion efforts, but is choosing instead to prioritize growth. It plans to open more hospitals in Bengaluru with the fresh capital. A key long-term change Even is testing involves aligning with insurers to possibly get paid not just for treatments rendered, but for hospitalizations prevented.
By rethinking how hospital systems pay for care—paying fixed salaries, tying bonuses to outcomes, giving employees equity, and focusing on prevention—Even challenges a deeply entrenched model of procedural-driven revenue in Indian health care. The startup’s early successes suggest this could be a model for health systems elsewhere seeking higher quality and lower costs. It’s an experiment worth following: will the trade-offs of slower profits and aggressive growth payoff long-term? What happens when it scales beyond Bengaluru? Those outcomes will determine whether this becomes a transformative model in India and beyond.
