India’s growing appeal as a medical-tourism destination is spawning a new layer of startups that manage everything from hospital selection and medical consultations to visas, travel, accommodation and post-treatment care. However, despite rising foreign patient flows and rapid growth reported by some companies, the segment has attracted only $9.28 million across 18 funding rounds, highlighting the challenge of building a venture-scale business around an asset-light service model.
Vaidam Health, backed by 4CE Ventures, receives around 18,000 inquiries and serves more than 500 patients globally every month, with patients from over 150 countries having used its services. “Our overall revenue has grown as we have increasingly focused on high-ticket and complex cases rather than patient volumes alone,” Pankaj Chandna, co-founder, Vaidam Health, told Fe.
The Medical Travel Company is currently handling about 1,000 patients a year and is targeting 2,000 by the end of this year. CureMeAbroad has more than 21,500 patients using its services each month for part of their treatment journey, including researching options, comparing hospitals and getting matched with doctors. The company has an annual recurring revenue of $5 million and is growing at about 73% quarter-on-quarter on a booked-case basis, Aditya Oza, CEO and co-founder, CureMeAbroad, said.
The opportunity is also changing geographically. While Africa and the Middle East remain important markets, startups are seeing increasing demand from the UK, US and Australia. In the UK, long waiting times are emerging as an important driver. Only around 62% of NHS patients started treatment within the 18-week standard in late 2025/early 2026, against a 92% target, making overseas treatment an option for some patients unwilling to wait. Australia is another growing market for CureMeAbroad, particularly for elective and cosmetic procedures that are not covered by insurance. The cost differential is also significant, with Indian hospitals offering several treatments at less than half the cost in developed markets.
For these patients, startups are increasingly positioning themselves as medical-care coordinators rather than travel agents. Jean Paul, a UK patient facing a three-year wait for knee treatment, initially explored Latvia and Poland but could not find a hospital willing to take his case because of his previous stroke. He eventually approached The Medical Travel Company, whose UK-based medical director worked with him for months before he was cleared to travel. His treatment in India, including flights, accommodation, meals, physiotherapy and aftercare, cost around £14,000, against an estimated £40,000 in the UK, said Sahil Jain, co-founder, The Medical Travel Company.
The broader market is providing a strong tailwind. India’s medical tourism market is estimated at about $12.3 billion in 2026 and could exceed $22 billion by 2031, according to Mordor Intelligence. Government estimates are more conservative, putting the market at $8.7 billion in 2025 and $16.2 billion by 2030. Foreign medical arrivals have risen from around 180,000 in 2020 to more than 640,000 2024, with 2025 provisional numbers already exceeding 500,000 . The government has also expanded e-Medical Visas to citizens of 167 countries and is promoting initiatives such as Heal in India and Regional Medical Value Travel hubs.
Yet, the funding numbers remain modest. According to Tracxn, India has 122 medical-tourism startups, but the sector has raised just $9.28 million across 18 funding rounds. “There is limited asset creation being done. It is more of a service business that is dependent on intermediaries, which could be an impediment to value creation beyond a certain scale,” Puru Gupta, founder and operating partner, Proteus Partners, said. He, however, sees scope for the model to evolve into B2B2C businesses with greater aftercare revenue, making some providers potential acquisition targets for hospitals. Nexus Venture Partners, Kriscore Capital, Inflection Point Ventures, 35North India, 9Unicorns and Wavemaker are among investors that have shown interest in the segment.