The promise of catching a serious disease before a patient feels unwell is a powerful one, but the path to that future is often fragmented across specialists and tests. Cent, a Bengaluru-based startup founded last year, is betting that the answer lies not in a single test, but in a single, two-hour visit that bundles a full-body MRI, a low-dose CT scan, an echocardiogram, and over 120 blood biomarkers into one comprehensive protocol [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief, retrieved 2026]. It is a capital-intensive, operationally complex bet on preventive health intelligence, and it has already attracted $20 million in venture backing to prove its model can work at scale [Moneycontrol, March 2026] [Moneycontrol, October 2026].
The one-scan protocol
Cent’s flagship product, Cent Check, is designed as a direct-to-consumer offering. A customer visits one of the company’s own diagnostic centres,the first opened in Bengaluru in April 2026,for a session that includes advanced imaging and a wide array of blood tests [YourStory, April 2026] [Inc42, July 2026]. The company claims this integrated approach can screen for over 300 conditions, including cardiac, cancer, neurological, and metabolic diseases, by analyzing the combined data through artificial intelligence [Inc42, October 2026] [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief, retrieved 2026]. The clinical premise is that correlating findings across modalities, like a suspicious shadow on a lung CT with a specific biomarker panel, could flag risks earlier than a symptom-led, piecemeal diagnostic journey.
To bolster its AI capabilities, Cent acquired Medsee, an AI-radiology platform, in October 2026 as part of its Series A announcement [Entrackr, October 2026]. This move suggests a focus on building proprietary analysis tools for the imaging data its own centres generate, a key differentiator from legacy diagnostic labs that may outsource scan readings.
The team and the traction
The venture is led by a trio of operators with deep experience in scaling Indian consumer platforms. CEO Shashank ND is the co-founder of Practo, a major digital healthcare marketplace, giving him a foundational understanding of the country’s healthcare landscape [Forbes, retrieved 2026]. His co-founders, Anshul Khandelwal and Arpit Garg, bring consumer marketing and product leadership experience from Ola Electric and Lenskart, respectively [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief, retrieved 2026]. This blend of healthcare, consumer tech, and brand-building is a deliberate strategy for a company operating a direct-to-consumer service.
Investors have backed the team and the thesis with significant capital in a short timeframe. The company raised a $5 million seed round in March 2026, led by South Park Commons and Shashank ND’s family office, OneFlow Holdings [Moneycontrol, March 2026]. This was followed seven months later by a $15 million Series A co-led by Blume Ventures and South Park Commons [Moneycontrol, October 2026]. The rapid follow-on financing indicates investor confidence in the early execution.
| Round | Date | Amount | Lead Investor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | March 2026 | $5 million | South Park Commons, OneFlow Holdings [Moneycontrol, March 2026] |
| Series A | October 2026 | $15 million | Blume Ventures, South Park Commons [Moneycontrol, October 2026] |
Reported traction, while early, shows momentum. In July 2026, the company claimed an annualized revenue run rate of approximately $2 million (estimated) and said it had grown 50% month-on-month since becoming operational [Inc42, July 2026]. These figures, while not independently audited, point to initial consumer uptake for its premium health check service.
The regulatory and clinical landscape
Operating at the intersection of radiology, laboratory testing, and AI-based analysis places Cent in a tightly regulated space. Each diagnostic component,from the MRI machine to the genetic cheek swab it also offers,falls under the scrutiny of Indian medical device and laboratory regulations [Cent, retrieved 2026]. Furthermore, any AI software intended to assist in clinical diagnosis would eventually need to demonstrate validation to regulators. The company has not publicly detailed its regulatory pathway, but its capital raise is earmarked partly for research and development, which likely includes necessary clinical validation work [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief, retrieved 2026].
The ambition is vast, focusing on the early detection of life-altering chronic diseases. For patients, the target population is ostensibly healthy, asymptomatic adults seeking advanced screening. The promise is to identify conditions like coronary artery disease, early-stage cancers, or metabolic syndrome at a point where intervention could be most effective.
The standard of care for such preventive screening in India today is often fragmented and reactive. A typical executive health check at a premium hospital might include a basic blood panel, an ECG, and perhaps an ultrasound, but rarely a full-body MRI or a low-dose CT scan. These more advanced imaging tests are typically prescribed only after a symptom or a basic test raises a red flag. Cent’s model attempts to invert this logic, making comprehensive, multi-modal screening the starting point.
Scaling the physical footprint
The company’s asset-heavy model, reliant on its own diagnostic centres stocked with expensive imaging equipment, presents both a moat and a scaling challenge. It controls the entire customer experience and data generation loop, but expanding beyond its initial Bengaluru centre will require significant capital expenditure. The Series A funds are intended for team expansion and scaling its AI and clinical operations, which presumably includes new facility rollouts [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief, retrieved 2026].
The competitive landscape is also evolving. While no direct competitors are named in available sources, Cent is competing against established hospital chains offering premium health packages and a growing number of digital health platforms. Its wedge is the depth and technological integration of its single-visit protocol. The key risks to its model are multifaceted:
- Capital intensity. Scaling a network of advanced imaging centres is far more expensive than a software-only model.
- Clinical validation. The core value proposition,that this specific bundle of tests finds serious disease earlier,requires robust, peer-reviewed outcomes data to move from a premium consumer service to a clinically recommended standard.
- Market education. Convincing healthy individuals to undertake an intensive, and likely costly, screening regimen requires a major shift in consumer health behavior.
The company’s answer to these challenges appears to be vertical integration and a focus on proprietary AI. By owning the scanning centres and the analysis software, it aims to control quality, cost, and the data flywheel needed to improve its algorithms.
The next twelve months
For Cent, the immediate future will be defined by physical and clinical expansion. The next milestones will likely be the opening of additional centres in other major Indian cities and the continued development of its AI platform post-Medsee acquisition. A key metric to watch will be the publication of any clinical data supporting the efficacy of its bundled screening approach. Furthermore, how the company navigates pricing,making such advanced diagnostics accessible beyond a tiny affluent segment,will be crucial for its long-term market size.
The bet, ultimately, is on a new paradigm for preventive care. It is a humane but enormously complex engineering challenge, requiring the smooth integration of hardware, software, biochemistry, and clinical expertise. For the population of asymptomatic adults at risk for chronic diseases, Cent is proposing a radically more proactive starting line.
Sources
- [Moneycontrol, March 2026] Practo founder, former Lenskart and Ola executives raise $5 million from South Park Commons for healthcare startup Cent | https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/startup/practo-founder-former-lenskart-and-ola-executives-raise-5-million-from-south-park-commons-for-healthcare-startup-cent-13852551.html
- [Inc42, July 2026] Can Cent’s One-Scan Protocol Outdo India’s Legacy Preventive Healthcare Players? | https://inc42.com/startups/can-cents-one-scan-protocol-outdo-indias-legacy-preventive-healthcare-players/
- [Moneycontrol, October 2026] Cent raises $15 million in round led by Blume Ventures, South Park Commons | https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/startup/cent-raises-15-million-in-round-led-by-blume-ventures-south-park-commons-14061315.html
- [Entrackr, October 2026] Practo co-founder Shashank ND’s startup Cent raises $15 Mn led by Blume, acquires Medsee | https://entrackr.com/news/practo-co-founder-shashank-nds-startup-cent-raises-15-mn-led-by-blume-acquires-medsee-12757196
- [Inc42, October 2026] Cent Raises $15 Mn To Scale AI-Led Preventive Healthcare Platform | https://inc42.com/buzz/cent-raises-15-mn-to-scale-ai-led-preventive-healthcare-platform/
- [YourStory, April 2026] Cent launched its first clinical prevention centre in Bengaluru | https://yourstory.com/
- [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief, retrieved 2026] Summary of Cent's business model, team, and funding
- [Forbes, retrieved 2026] Shashank ND profile | https://www.forbes.com/profile/shashank-nd/
- [Cent, retrieved 2026] Company website | https://www.cent.health/