Preventive Healthcare Startup Cent was founded by Practo Co-Founder Shashank ND. Cent has raised $15 million in a Series A funding round. The financing round was co-led by Blume Ventures and South Park Commons. The fresh capital injection also coincided with the company’s strategic acquisition of artificial intelligence radiology software firm Medsee, another significant step toward advancing its vision of transforming early disease detection and preventative diagnostics in the healthcare industry.
Investor participation and focus on early disease detection
Investors like prominent angel investors and institutional backers provided heavy support during the Series A round. Among the individual investors quoted as participating in this round were top-of-the-line investors Arun Sarin, Srinivas Narayanan, Sharath Narayana, Aprameya Radhakrishna and Krishan Sridhar, according to referrals by Cent founder Shashank ND in his LinkedIn post.
The increased investment in preventive healthcare products and services, particularly those combining groundbreaking technology with a strong focus on early diagnosis of disease, indicates rising investor confidence in the innovative medical solutions currently being developed for this sector.
Cent was founded by Shashank ND, a well-known name in the established healthcare ecosystem, Practo. Cent specialises in the early detection of disease using medical imaging techniques, advanced biomarkers, and artificial intelligence.
During the past year, about 10,000 people have been screened using Cent’s specific diagnostic protocol. Of those screened, 1 in 4 were identified with something that needed medical attention, and 1 in 40 were identified with something that needed immediate medical attention, the company reported.
Cent’s full-body screening suite integrates more than 100 markers of blood tests, electrocardiograms, echocardiograms, low-dose computed tomography (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and full-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), while testing takes approximately two hours. Along with the existing network of its partner diagnostic labs, the startup has dedicated centres in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi NCR.
Strategic acquisition of Medsee and vision of Cent
The additional funds will be used by Cent to invest in hardware infrastructure, artificial intelligence development, and continued clinical research. Shashank ND notes that the deal with AI radiology platform Medsee is targeted to further boost Cent’s technical strength in medical imaging analysis specifically. The long-term vision is to perform 10 million scans by 2035, and actively contribute to saving one million lives by enabling early detection of diseases and timely treatments.
The core of Cent’s agenda is to address significant constraints in the health sector in India, including the fact that the majority of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are typically detected late. According to industry estimates, India has an estimated population of 315 million with hypertension, 136 million with prediabetes, and 101 million people with diabetes in the country.
The startup aims to change the healthcare model from reactive treatment towards proactive early detection by offering complete preventive screening. As part of the same organizational restructure, Practo promoted Shashank ND as managing director and executive chairman, while Jagnoor Singh was appointed chief executive officer as part of the changes announced in September 2026.
Conclusion
The $15 million Series A raise, co-led by Blume Ventures and South Park Commons, and the acquisition of Medsee, represent a new paradigm for Cent. With the visionary leadership of Practo co-founder Shashank ND, the startup is set to strengthen its diagnostic services, AI capabilities, and scalability of preventive health services. Cent continues to have a solid ground in the ways of saving lives by tackling the widespread existence of NCDs through a comprehensive screening protocol to reshape the early detection of disease in India.
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