Practo co-founder's Cent raises $15 million, buys AI radiology firm Medsee
By Arjun MehtaSenior Business Editor, Peepals Business
Representative image: dmchannelsng / Pixabay
Cent, the preventive-health start-up of Practo co-founder Shashank ND, raised a $15 million Series A led by Blume and South Park Commons on October 27, 2026.
What Happened
Cent, a preventive-health start-up founded in 2025 by Practo co-founder Shashank ND, has raised $15 million in a Series A round led by Blume Ventures and South Park Commons, and has acquired Medsee, an AI-powered radiology reporting platform, the company announced on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. Angel investors in the round include former Vodafone chief executive Arun Sarin and Srinivas Narayanan, a former OpenAI executive. The value of the Medsee deal was not disclosed.
Key Facts
- Round: $15 million Series A, led by Blume Ventures and South Park Commons; South Park Commons is an existing investor.
- Angels: Arun Sarin, former Vodafone CEO, and Srinivas Narayanan, a former OpenAI executive, among others.
- Acquisition: Medsee, an AI-powered radiology reporting workflow platform; deal value not disclosed.
- Founders: Shashank ND, who co-founded the doctor-booking platform Practo, with Anshul Khandelwal and Arpit Garg; Cent was founded in 2025.
- Earlier funding: a seed round of about $5 million from OneFlow Holdings and South Park Commons in March 2026.
- Use of funds: research and development across hardware, AI and clinical research, and expansion of the AI, engineering and clinical teams.
Why It Matters
Cent is building for preventive health: finding signs of disease early, before a person falls ill, rather than treating illness after it appears. That is a growing interest among Indian start-ups and investors, because chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease are often caught late. Early detection usually depends on tests and scans, and the speed and accuracy with which those results are read and reported.
The Medsee deal is the part that shows where Cent is heading. Radiology, the reading of X-rays, CT and MRI scans, is a field where AI tools are being used to speed up reporting. By buying a company that builds AI-powered reporting workflows, Cent is bringing that capability in-house rather than relying on outside vendors. Shashank ND said the acquisition strengthens Cent's AI capabilities. Combining reporting tools with a preventive-health service also means one company can handle more of the path from test to result, which is where delays often occur. Claims about what Cent's or Medsee's AI can do are the company's own; independent clinical evidence for the products was not part of the announcement.
The round also says something about investor appetite. A $15 million Series A within about seven months of a $5 million seed, for a company founded only last year, is a fast pace for Indian health technology. Much of that confidence rests on the founder: Practo grew into one of India's best-known health platforms, and repeat founders with such a record tend to raise money faster.
| Data point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Series A | $15 million |
| Lead investors | Blume Ventures, South Park Commons |
| Seed (March 2026) | About $5 million, OneFlow Holdings and South Park Commons |
| Acquisition | Medsee, AI radiology reporting |
| Founded | 2025 |
Impact
Short-term: Cent will hire across AI, engineering and clinical teams and fold Medsee's radiology tools into its platform. The deal adds to a busy week of Indian health and AI funding.
Long-term: If preventive-health platforms can show they catch disease earlier at a reasonable cost, they could change how urban Indians use routine check-ups. Regulators and doctors will look for clinical evidence before AI-led diagnosis gains wide trust.
Who is affected: people looking for preventive health check-ups, radiologists and diagnostic centres that may use AI reporting tools, health-tech start-ups competing in the same space, and early-stage investors in Indian health technology.
Key Takeaway
Practo co-founder Shashank ND's preventive-health start-up Cent raised $15 million led by Blume Ventures and South Park Commons on October 27, 2026, and bought AI radiology platform Medsee to build its in-house AI.
Questions and Answers
How much did Cent raise and who led the round?
Cent raised $15 million in a Series A round on October 27, 2026, led by Blume Ventures and South Park Commons, with angels including Arun Sarin and Srinivas Narayanan.
What is Medsee, the company Cent acquired?
Medsee is an AI-powered radiology reporting workflow platform, a tool that helps produce reports on medical scans. Cent did not disclose how much it paid.
Who founded Cent?
Cent was founded in 2025 by Shashank ND, a co-founder of Practo, with Anshul Khandelwal and Arpit Garg. It raised a seed round of about $5 million in March 2026.
What will Cent do with the Series A money?
The company said it will spend on research and development in hardware, AI and clinical research, and expand its AI, engineering and clinical teams.
Disclaimer: Prepared by the Peepals newsroom from publicly available sources with AI assistance. Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication and may change. Images may be representative. Not professional advice. Report an error via our contact page.
By Arjun Mehta, Senior Business EditorCovers Start-ups & Opportunities and more for Peepals Business. All stories by Arjun Mehta
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Arjun Mehta is a pen name of the Peepals Global Editorial Team, which researches, fact-checks and publishes every story. The portrait is an illustration.
