Khosla Ventures doubles down on Even Healthcare to challenge India’s hospital economics

Even Healthcare is an Indian healthcare startup founded in 2021. It combines financing, technology, and care delivery to focus hospitals on better patient outcomes rather than more tests, procedures, or days in care. That matters because hospitals can otherwise earn more when treatment volumes rise, even when some care may be unnecessary.

Even first used partner hospitals, then began leasing and operating hospitals itself. It now has two hospitals in Bengaluru. Doctors receive fixed salaries, while bonuses can reflect patient-reported clinical outcomes. This gives Even more control over treatment decisions, costs, and the patient experience.

Khosla Ventures invested in Even from its seed round and led the latest Series B. Its “doubling down” means making a larger commitment as Even expands. The startup plans five more Bengaluru hospitals within six months. Even has raised more than $120 million overall and is valued at $300 million.

Even raised $50 million in an all-equity Series B round led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Alpha Wave. The round valued the Indian healthcare startup at $300 million. It brings Even’s total capital raised to more than $120 million.

The valuation has grown rapidly. Even says its $300 million valuation is three times what it was 18 months earlier. That means the company’s valuation increased by 200% from its earlier level, which was approximately $100 million based on the stated tripling.

The new money will fund expansion in Bengaluru. Even plans to open five additional hospitals there over the next six months. The funding arrives while Even is still losing money: it reported a fiscal 2025 net loss of ₹902 million on revenue of ₹272 million.

In a fee-for-service system, hospitals are paid for individual services. Tests, procedures, and hospital days can each generate additional revenue. As a result, a hospital may earn more when a patient receives more care, even when an extra intervention does not improve the patient’s health.

The article describes this as a common problem in India. Hospitals typically earn more when patients undergo additional tests, procedures, or longer stays. Even says some patients treated through partner hospitals received tests or surgery recommendations that it considered unnecessary.

This payment pattern can raise medical bills and create a conflict between revenue and patient need. Even is trying to change the incentive by paying doctors fixed salaries, tracking recovery, and exploring payments for hospitalizations it helps prevent. Its model aims to reward better outcomes instead of greater service use.

Fixed salaries can reduce the financial pressure to recommend more tests or surgeries. Doctors receive the same base pay whether they perform many procedures or few. That supports decisions based more on clinical need than on the revenue a treatment produces.

Even adds two outcome-focused mechanisms. Doctors can earn bonuses based on patient-reported clinical outcomes, and the company is discussing insurer payments for hospitalizations it helps prevent. Together, these incentives reward recovery and avoiding unnecessary care, rather than simply delivering more services.

The approach also applies beyond doctors. Hospital managers are not paid according to procedure volume, and marketing teams focus on attracting patients instead of the revenue those patients generate. Even employees receive company equity, giving them a stake in long-term performance. The company still reports a fiscal 2025 net loss, so the model remains financially unproven at scale.

Even says its hospitals have achieved an unplanned readmission rate of less than 1%. It compares that with an industry benchmark of 8% to 15%. The company also claims patients spend 40% less time in the hospital and that its approach has saved insurers more than ₹500 million, or about $5.27 million.

The startup has opened two hospitals in Bengaluru, and both reached operational profitability excluding depreciation within a year. Even tracks recovery with established medical scoring systems. For knee replacements, it uses the Oxford Knee Score to measure pain and mobility, then publishes results alongside figures from other healthcare systems.

The article does not state how many patients Even serves. It does show that the company remains loss-making overall: fiscal 2025 revenue was ₹272 million, against a net loss of ₹902 million. Even plans five more Bengaluru hospitals, funded by the new round.

Even initially relied on partner hospitals to treat its members. It began questioning that arrangement after finding that some patients had undergone tests or been recommended surgeries the startup considered unnecessary. Banerjee said patients received a poor experience, while insurers received a bad economic deal.

The company responded by leasing hospital buildings on 20-year agreements. It fits out those buildings and buys the medical equipment itself. This lets Even shape staffing, management, marketing, and clinical incentives rather than depending entirely on another hospital’s operating model.

Even has opened two hospitals in Bengaluru, both reaching operational profitability excluding depreciation within a year. Doctors receive fixed salaries, and managers are not paid according to procedure volume. The startup plans five more hospitals in Bengaluru over the next six months, using funds from its $50 million Series B.

Value-based healthcare is an approach that links healthcare rewards to patient outcomes, quality, and efficient care. The goal is to improve health while avoiding treatment that adds cost without adding benefit. In Even’s model, recovery measures and patient-reported results help show whether care worked.

This differs from paying mainly for service volume. Under that model, every additional test, procedure, or hospital day can create more revenue. Even instead pays doctors fixed salaries, offers possible bonuses for patient-reported clinical outcomes, and is exploring compensation for hospitalizations it helps prevent.

Even applies the idea across the organization. Managers are not rewarded for performing more procedures, and marketing teams focus on bringing in patients rather than maximizing the revenue from each one. The company reports low readmissions and shorter stays, but it still posted a ₹902 million fiscal 2025 loss while expanding its hospitals.