Healthtech startup Cent has raised an undisclosed seed investment to build its AI-powered early disease detection platform, focusing on life-threatening conditions like cancer and cardiac issues. The company uses a proprietary, comprehensive screening protocol (CCNM) and a direct-to-consumer model, claiming its methods detect critical conditions in 3-4% of asymptomatic individuals.
Cent reports rapid growth, with a $2 million annualized revenue run rate, and plans to use the new funding to open dedicated detection centers across major Indian cities. The startup positions itself in a growing global market for advanced preventive health checks, leveraging AI to improve early diagnosis rates compared to conventional checkups.
Main Topics: Fundraising and investors; Company's mission and focus on early disease detection; Technology and screening protocol; Business model and growth metrics; Future expansion plans.
Healthtech startup Cent, founded by Practo founder Shashank ND along with Arpit Garg (formerly at Lenskart) and Anshul Khandelwal (ex-Ola Electric), has raised an undisclosed sum from OneFlow Holdings, the family office of Shashank ND, and venture firm South Park Commons, to build its AI-led early disease detection platform.
âUnlike most preventive healthcare services, we are solely focussed on early detection of life-threatening diseases such as cancer, and cardiac and metabolic conditions that comprise about 70â74% of deaths globally," Khandelwal, the companyâs cofounder and chief business officer, told ET.
He said the company has adopted a direct-to-consumer (D2C) model. "Most healthcare companies in India are B2B, selling services to hospitals, insurers, or corporates. Our revenue comes directly from consumers. We do not earn commissions from hospitals, doctors, or insurers," he added.
The Bengaluru-based startup has been operational since the first quarter of FY26 and has completed more than 1,500 scans, it said in a statement.
According to the company, 26% of its scans revealed clinically meaningful findings, while about 3-4% detected critical conditions such as cancer or serious heart blockages that required immediate medical attention, even though the individuals had no symptoms.
The startup founders said the idea emerged from personal experiences within the founding team. Both Khandelwal and Shashank lost family members to cancer, prompting them to examine why diseases are often detected too late despite advances in medical technology.
"In the preventive space, we need dedicated infrastructure, the right technology, the right protocols, the right capital, built specifically for detection. That is the gap Cent is designed to close," Shashank said.
Centâs platform is built around a proprietary screening protocol called CCNM (cardiac, cancer, neurological, and metabolic). This combines full body MRI, cardiac CT, ECG, DEXA scans, more than 120 blood and urine biomarkers, and genomic testing. This data is analysed using artificial intelligence (AI) and reviewed by radiologists and specialists to generate a detailed organ-level report.
Khandelwal said the output is typically a 60-70 page report that provides a health score for each organ in the body.
"Investor interest in the space is rising due to the growing burden of non-communicable diseases and the potential of AI to transform medical diagnostics," he explained, and added that healthcare spending in India currently accounts for about 3% of GDP, significantly lower than most developed economies.
Cent measures the effectiveness of its protocol through a metric it calls the Early Detection Index (EDI). The company claims an EDI score of about 83%, compared with roughly 15-20% for conventional annual health checkups.
The startup said it is growing around 50% month-on-month and has reached an annualised revenue run rate (ARR) of about $2 million.
With the newly-raised capital, the company plans to open dedicated early detection centres across major Indian cities. The first is expected to open in Bengaluru in April, followed by Mumbai, Delhi, and Hyderabad.
"We expect the series A (growth-stage) to be roughly five to six times the size of the seed (early-stage) round, which will help us scale our network of early detection centres and also begin international expansion,â said Khandelwal,
Cent is also working with global imaging equipment manufacturers to deploy and optimise advanced diagnostic machines such as MRI systems for preventive screening.
Globally, startups such as Prenuvo, Function Health, and Neko Health also building preventive healthcheck platforms integrating AI-led diagnostics.
âUnlike most preventive healthcare services, we are solely focussed on early detection of life-threatening diseases such as cancer, and cardiac and metabolic conditions that comprise about 70â74% of deaths globally," Khandelwal, the companyâs cofounder and chief business officer, told ET.
He said the company has adopted a direct-to-consumer (D2C) model. "Most healthcare companies in India are B2B, selling services to hospitals, insurers, or corporates. Our revenue comes directly from consumers. We do not earn commissions from hospitals, doctors, or insurers," he added.
The Bengaluru-based startup has been operational since the first quarter of FY26 and has completed more than 1,500 scans, it said in a statement.
According to the company, 26% of its scans revealed clinically meaningful findings, while about 3-4% detected critical conditions such as cancer or serious heart blockages that required immediate medical attention, even though the individuals had no symptoms.
The startup founders said the idea emerged from personal experiences within the founding team. Both Khandelwal and Shashank lost family members to cancer, prompting them to examine why diseases are often detected too late despite advances in medical technology.
"In the preventive space, we need dedicated infrastructure, the right technology, the right protocols, the right capital, built specifically for detection. That is the gap Cent is designed to close," Shashank said.
Centâs platform is built around a proprietary screening protocol called CCNM (cardiac, cancer, neurological, and metabolic). This combines full body MRI, cardiac CT, ECG, DEXA scans, more than 120 blood and urine biomarkers, and genomic testing. This data is analysed using artificial intelligence (AI) and reviewed by radiologists and specialists to generate a detailed organ-level report.
Khandelwal said the output is typically a 60-70 page report that provides a health score for each organ in the body.
"Investor interest in the space is rising due to the growing burden of non-communicable diseases and the potential of AI to transform medical diagnostics," he explained, and added that healthcare spending in India currently accounts for about 3% of GDP, significantly lower than most developed economies.
Cent measures the effectiveness of its protocol through a metric it calls the Early Detection Index (EDI). The company claims an EDI score of about 83%, compared with roughly 15-20% for conventional annual health checkups.
The startup said it is growing around 50% month-on-month and has reached an annualised revenue run rate (ARR) of about $2 million.
With the newly-raised capital, the company plans to open dedicated early detection centres across major Indian cities. The first is expected to open in Bengaluru in April, followed by Mumbai, Delhi, and Hyderabad.
"We expect the series A (growth-stage) to be roughly five to six times the size of the seed (early-stage) round, which will help us scale our network of early detection centres and also begin international expansion,â said Khandelwal,
Cent is also working with global imaging equipment manufacturers to deploy and optimise advanced diagnostic machines such as MRI systems for preventive screening.
Globally, startups such as Prenuvo, Function Health, and Neko Health also building preventive healthcheck platforms integrating AI-led diagnostics.
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