Practo’s Big Leap, Prosus’ Stake Acquisition, and UP Cabinet’s Incentives

Practo’s US expansion is more than global push, it’s a reinvention shaped by nearly two decades of hard lessons in India. After a April 2025 soft launch, the company has already hit a $75M GMV run-rate in the US, powered mostly by organic demand. Practo isn’t positioning itself as a booking app anymore; it wants to be the “care navigation layer” in a healthcare system where patients struggle to understand who to see, what’s covered, and which provider delivers the best outcomes.

To appreciate the clarity of this move, you have to revisit Practo’s India journey. It built incredible scale - 5 lakh doctors, 40 million appointments - but India’s healthcare market capped its ambition. Patients were price-sensitive and loyalty-light. Insurance penetration stayed shallow, limiting high-value use cases. Teleconsultations, diagnostics, pharmacy delivery, subscriptions - all helped diversify revenue, but none could unlock breakout monetization. India made Practo operationally strong and profitable, but not a 10x story. Those ceilings pushed the company to look outward.

Before leaping into the US, Practo tested itself in the UAE, where insurance-linked decisions, multilingual patient journeys, and tighter regulation offered a controlled proving ground. With 31,000 doctors and 10% penetration in Dubai, the company learned how to build insurance-aware filters, structured outcome data, and richer provider profiles - capabilities that would later shape its US product.

In the US, the opportunity was obvious: a $4.5 trillion system where abundance of supply hasn’t translated into clarity for patients. Early traction validates this gap - 200,000 doctors listed, 300,000 MAUs, 6× traffic growth in nine months, and a fast-growing GMV base. Dental and mental health became perfect entry points: categories where consumers actively compare providers and rely on transparent outcome signals.

Practo’s positioning is deliberately different from incumbents. Zocdoc optimizes for appointment volume; Practo prioritizes outcome depth and insurance mapping. Chinese models like Ping An succeeded due to supply shortages that don’t exist in the US, while Babylon Health failed by mistaking marketing-driven scale for PMF. Practo, hardened by India’s constraints, is betting on depth, accuracy, and structured data - not blitzscaling.

The company’s business model also shifts meaningfully outside India. International revenue is expected to rise from 15-20% today to over 30% by 2027. US CAC is higher, but Practo’s organic-first approach and SaaS + marketplace monetization create healthier unit economics. A 46% contribution margin gives it space to expand globally without eroding profitability.

Its GTM reflects a founder trained in scarcity. Instead of splashy campaigns, Practo doubled down on SEO, structured provider data, and high-intent categories. SaaS bundling for clinics strengthens supply acquisition, while potential M&A - practice management tools, insurance integrators, outcome-data systems - could accelerate defensibility.

Regulation, often the Achilles heel of digital health, becomes a moat here. HIPAA, SOC2, HITRUST, and state-level approvals create hurdles that new entrants struggle to cross. Practo’s federated data architecture and insurer-mapping engine - spanning 800+ carriers - are slow, expensive, multi-year investments. Yet they give the company structural leverage. Challenges persist: interoperability with EHR giants like Epic and Cerner remains slow; payer complexity can impact conversion; and chronic-care navigation demands deeper provider integration than Practo currently offers.

The coming two years will reveal whether Practo becomes India’s first global health-tech leader or simply another cautionary tale - but for now, the company’s trajectory feels more aligned with its ambitions than ever.

Let’s go through what else is happening in Indian startup world - Grab your simmering cup of StartupChai.in and unwind with our hand-brewed memes.

“Ho Jaayegi Balle Balle”: CCI Clears Prosus’ Stake Acquisition In Rapido

The Competition Commission of India has cleared Prosus’ entity MIH Investments One BV to acquire a stake in ride-hailing unicorn Rapido, months after the Dutch investor was first reported to be circling the deal.

The approval follows exits by Rapido backers Swiggy and TVS Motors, both of whom sold their holdings to Prosus via secondary transactions.

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“Ho Raha Bharat Nirman”: UP Cabinet Approves Incentives For INR 3,000+ Cr Semiconductor Investments

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet has cleared incentive packages for semiconductor investments worth over ₹3,000 crore, with state minister Suresh Kumar Khanna confirming that 13 of the 14 proposals placed before the council of ministers got the green light.

The broader aim, Khanna noted, is to pull large-scale chip manufacturing and allied ecosystems into the state at a time when India is racing to localize critical tech supply chains.

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“Bin Tere Sanam Mar Mitenge Hum”: Innovartan Technologies appoints Anwar Sheikh as Head of Operations

Innovartan Technologies has appointed Anwar Sheikh as Head of Operations as it ramps up its school-integrated, technology-led learning offerings across India’s K-12 segment.

With over two decades of experience in EdTech and school education, Sheikh will oversee academic delivery, product execution, and operational scale at the company.

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1. D2C skincare brand Antinorm has raised ₹28 Cr in a seed round led by Fireside Ventures, with participation from existing backers V3 Ventures and Rukam Capital. The fresh capital will go into R&D, hiring, omnichannel expansion.

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2. Proptech startup Flent has raised ₹21 Cr in a funding round led by Incubate Fund Asia, with participation from Twin & Bull Family Office, Stride Ventures, 91Ventures, Untitled VC, and WEH Ventures. The round includes ₹17 Cr in equity and ₹4 Cr in debt.

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3. Arrowhead has raised ₹27 Cr in a seed round led by early-stage VC Stellaris Venture Partners to scale its voice AI solutions for BFSI sales teams. The round also saw participation from Kunal Shah, Madhusudanan R of M2P Fintech, and senior executives.

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4. D2C skincare startup SkinInspired has raised ₹24 Cr in a funding round led by Spring Marketing Capital, with participation from Lotus Herbals’ Beauty Innovation Fund, Arihant Patni, and existing backer Unilever Ventures.

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5. White Whale Venture Fund has invested in supply chain tech startup Stackbox as part of its Series A round of about ₹33 Cr, led by Enrission India Capital. Stackbox is building AI-led warehouse and transportation management systems to tame the rising complexity of modern, automation-heavy logistics operations.

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6. EV charging infrastructure startup RoadGrid has raised ₹12 Cr in a pre-Series A round led by Venture Catalysts, with participation from a clutch of strategic and angel investors. The fresh capital will be deployed to scale manufacturing and deepen software integrations.

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7. Skincare brand Be Clinical has raised ₹6 Cr in seed funding led by V3 Ventures, founded by Arjun Vaidya, with continued participation from Titan Capital. The fresh capital will be channelled into strengthening R&D as the Mumbai-based startup sharpens its clinical skincare play.

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8. Mufin Green Finance has invested ₹1.75 Cr in Dream Road Technologies as part of its Pre-Series A4 funding round. The investment was made through the subscription of 10,340 compulsorily convertible preference shares, reinforcing Mufin’s bet on the company’s next phase of growth.

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