Medulance Success Story: How Two Founders Turned India’s Ambulance Problem Into a Healthcare Startup

Visualize a medical emergency in the home. But instead of concentrating on the patient, the family begins to call various numbers of ambulances, and begins to worry about hospitals, availability and how long it will take for help to arrive.

Medulance was set the task of solving the above problem.

From a heartfelt experience, it grew into a tech-driven emergency healthcare company that ensures that patients can easily connect with ambulances, medical and emergency response services. Medulance was started by Ravjot Singh Arora and Pranav Bajaj and has evolved from an idea from Delhi to a platform which is active in hundreds of cities across India.

For entrepreneurs, the path it takes is an interesting one; there are often the biggest start-up ideas to be found in everyday problems that people have just gotten used to.

The Problem That Started Medulance

Medulance's history dates back to a personal tragedy.

In the Professional Saathi account, co-founder Ravjot Singh Arora said that his grandfather died due to the failure to provide the proper ambulance services. This experience couldn't be ignored.

It was a simple question:

How come it's so hard to locate an ambulance when you need one?

Ambulance services in India are traditionally disjointed. Availability may be dependent on location, hospital network, traffic and private operators. In an emergency, just a few minutes can be the difference.

The founders saw this as a technology / accessibility issue rather than a healthcare issue.

So they came up with the concept to have access to emergency medical services that are more accessible and more readily available.

That became Medulance.

From an Ambulance Company to a Technology Platform

Medulance was established in 2016, and started to operate later, and focused on technology to support emergency response.

The company was not just looking to purchase ambulances and wait for the passengers.

Rather, it created a system that helps individuals in need of emergency rides with ambulance services and health-care providers.

The basic idea was:

The patient's needs are met and a request is sent → Ambulance in the area is called up → Ambulance is sent out, and the patient gets emergency assistance.

It seemed to be an obvious thing to do today, but technology in a traditionally disjointed ambulance system generated a whole new experience in getting emergency transport.

Medulance's service is described as being available for 'Emergency Service' 24 hours a day, with a response time of 15 minutes or less. It currently claims to have helped over 800,000 lives, serves over 500+ cities and has approximately 15,000 ambulances. The numbers shown are subject to change and are company reported. 

The Business was Larger Than Just Ambulance Booking

An interesting twist to Medulance's story is that the company didn't just stop with an ambulance-booking platform.

It has created several services to meet various emergency-care needs.

These have included:

MeduERS

A service that could be used to respond to emergencies with ambulances.

Stationed Ambulance Services

By deploying ambulances at key sites where timely response is key, the need to be transported to a different site from elsewhere is eliminated.

This is very helpful in the case of large organisations, industrial facilities, events and other locations where emergency preparedness is important.

MeduClinic

Medical rooms were also being prepared, to offer basic medical assistance, first aid and basic life-support facilities.

MeduAlert

MeduAlert launched an abacus based subscription model, especially in the case of corporate organisations.

Professional Saathi says that it can provide employees and family members as well as establish an Organisation-specific emergency helpline and ambulance services.

This was a significant turnaround.

There were no more questions of "why" at Medulance;

What do you have to do to find an ambulance?

It was asking:

What can be done to help families and organisations be better prepared in advance of an emergency?"

Subscription Model had changed the business.

The business of emergency services is a peculiar one.

People may have an urgent need for an ambulance but they may not think of buying an ambulance service until an emergency arises.

To overcome this challenge Medulance launched “Subscription Services”.

The company could offer an alternative to relying solely on individual emergency bookings by collaborating with corporates and organisations that wished for emergency medical support as an employee benefit.

This gives another customer relationship.

A company may take an insurance policy in the event of an emergency with its employees and their families, and Medulance can have access to a bigger customer base with one corporate partnership.

Professional Saathi calls this the “partner approach,” where Medulance tries to get to its employees without using all of the traditional advertising methods. 

This is a crucial business lesson for a Startup:

Not always the customer who uses your service is the same as the customer who pays for your service.

The employee must have a need for the service.

The company is able to afford the benefit.

Technology was the backbone of the project.

Just possessing ambulances is not the biggest problem with emergency transportation.

It's the correct ambulance, the right place, the right time.

That process can be coordinated with the help of technology.

Medulance's business was based on discovery of ambulances using GPS and technology based emergency response. Its aim was to give the service, which was largely disorganized at the time, more organization and visibility.

Currently, the company is also offering individual customers app and website booking of ambulances. 

It's here that Medulance's start-up story gets fascinating.

The company was not the first to have invented the ambulance.

It was making some changes to how an existing service was accessed and coordinated.

A valuable start up lesson.

It's not always necessary to come up with something completely original.

Sometimes, you can create a successful business by taking an old industry and making it faster, more accessible and easier to use.

Then Came Shark Tank India

After joining Shark Tank India Season 2, Medulance got ample attention from the public.

The founders came with an equity and money of ?2 crore and a valuation of ?200 crore.

The deal that was finally reported was for sale of 2% equity for ?2 crore, involving the participation of Namita Thapar, Aman Gupta and Peyush Bansal. 

The looks weren't all about the money for Medulance.

It provided a very useful tool for a consumer-focused healthcare start-up:

brand awareness.

Business India said that the TV appearance on ‘Shark Tank' had a dramatic effect on Medulance's brand recall. 

This is another lesson for startups.

The capital is in the form of funding.

However, the appropriate platform can also include:

• Brand recognition
• Customer trust
• Media attention
• Investor visibility

For a healthcare company dealing with emergencies, trust is especially important.

The transition from Shark Tank to institutional funding.

Medulance's growth did not stop when they were on the television screens.

The company announced its $3 million Series A round in April of 2024, led by Alkemi Growth Capital, with investors such as Dexter Capital, Aman Gupta and Namita Thapar participating in the round.

Medulance's total funding as per more recent Tracxn data is in the range of USD 5.14 million across four rounds of funding (seed & early-stage). 

This demonstrates the company's journey from start-up to a health tech business with funding.

It's also given the company the space it needs to grow, as well as technology and emergency-care.

Medulance's Growth During COVID-19

COVID-19 pandemic emerged as one of the biggest challenges for India's health system.

With hospitals having to cope with an unprecedented demand, and families struggling to cope with the workload, ambulances became the lifelines of patients.

Medulance entered into the patient transport area of COVID transport.

Currently, it claims to have helped more than 200,000 people in the fight against COVID. 

Professional Saathi said that around two lakh COVID patients have been assisted by Medulance.

The pandemic has showed a thing or two about the business:

Emergency transport was not an option! It was considered as essential infrastructure.

Another aspect of the crisis was the importance of coordination, availability and quick response in a healthcare crisis.

Building a Larger Emergency Healthcare Network

Today Medulance is a lot more than a start-up for booking ambulances.

Its website highlights:

• 24/7 emergency support
• Ambulance booking
• Corporate emergency solutions
• Stationed ambulance services
• Medical support
• Technology-enabled emergency response
• Operations across 500+ cities

According to the company, there are over 8 million subscribers and its fleet of vehicles is 15,000. 

Medulance has also been working towards technologically high-tech ambulances.

For instance, KIMS Hospitals introduced 5G-powered smart ambulance at Thane in association with Medulance and Artemis Hospitals announced the 5G-powered ambulances at Gurugram in partnership with the company. 

This is a sign of greater opportunities for emergency transport services.

The future ambulance isn't just a vehicle for taking someone to the hospital.

It may be a medical world that becomes connected so that the patient's information, the communication, the diagnostics and medical teams are able to interact on the way.

Why is Medulance's Business Model Interesting?

The revenue and service channels of Medulance are in general, the following three types:

1. Individual Customers

They are able to reserve an ambulance when it is required in an emergency.

2. Corporate Subscriptions

Employers can offer emergency medical assistance to their employees and their families.

3. Stationed Ambulances

Ambulances can be placed at designated sites to be ready to use.

4. Medical Facilities

The business expands to services like MeduClinic.

5. Institutional Partnerships

Hospitals or any healthcare organisation can partner with Medulance to enhance its emergency preparedness.

This diversification will help them to not be dependent on one type of customer.

The Numbers Behind the Journey

A few of the older business men offer some help with the rate of expansion of Medulance.

Professional Saathi said that Medulance made around ?24 crore in sales in FY 2021-22 while it sold off ?15.7 crore in FY 2020-21. The article further stated that the company had earned a 24% net margin in the FY 2021–22. 

These, however, are past figures derived from a third party source and must not be considered as an ongoing set of financial results.

The figures of recent years reported by the companies are far more impressive, with Medulance currently reporting 800,000+ lives assisted, 500+ cities and 15,000 ambulances. 

That's the key difference to bear in mind when reading startup success stories:

It is important to remember that a company's operations scale may fluctuate greatly within just a few years of time, which means that the old revenue figures should always be taken in the proper context of time.

What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Medulance

There are a number of lessons that can be learned from the Medulance story for entrepreneurs.

1. Start With a Real Problem

Ambulance booking didn't just seem like a hot startup category for the company to choose from.

It originated out of a heart-felt personal tragedy.

The founders recognised a need that they saw as a problem that needed solving and went about creating around this.

2. Technology Doesn't Need to Be Complicated

The idea was simple: match up individuals who require emergency transportation and available ambulances.

However, by applying a GPS, mobile and digital coordination system to the process, a lot of value was created.

3. Build Multiple Revenue Channels

Medulance went beyond the scope of providing individual ambulance bookings and brought the corporate subscription to the market, with the presence of ambulances, medical facilities and institutional partnerships.

This allowed the company to have several income generation options.

4. Trust Is a Business Advantage

Many other areas of startups are not quite like healthcare.

It's not just about convenience.

They are entrusting in a company at amongst some of their most pressured times.

Quality of service is then engraved in the brand, as is the reliability and the reaction time.

5. Don't Stop After Product-Market Fit

Once Medulance had developed its base ambulance business, it further developed its services.

The journey towards smart ambulances and connected infrastructure for emergency-care is a great example of how an existing business can continue to grow and evolve.

The Bigger Story Behind Medulance

Most exciting about the Medulance journey is that it has become a funded health-tech startup.

What the founders did was to examine a situation that was considered normal by people.

The availability of an ambulance is hard to come by in emergencies.

Rather than take it for granted that reality is that, they asked:

“Is there a technology solution that can make this easier?”

It was a company that asked that question.

The Medulance story is the example of a startup that can grow when there is a real problem, technology, and a sustainable business model – from the start of the business, a personal tragedy, to the technology-based ambulance booking, the creation of an emergency healthcare platform, from Delhi to hundreds of cities, to the smart ambulance and the corporate emergency subscription.

Probably the most important lesson for entrepreneurs is:

Sometimes, a good business idea starts with something new, but more often, it begins with something that isn't a radical new concept. In some cases, this starts with spotting a problem where nobody else has ceased asking questions.

Sources & Information Validity

Information verified on: 7 September 2026
This article has been independently written for Digital Startup India using publicly available information from Medulance and other business-information sources. Company figures, funding information, fleet size, subscriber numbers and other operational metrics may change over time.
Primary & Reference Sources
Medulance Official Website 
Disclaimer: Digital Startup India is an independent informational platform and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or officially endorsed by Medulance, its founders, investors or the sources mentioned above. Funding, financial and operational figures are presented for informational purposes and should be verified from the latest official or primary sources.