Start-Ups Embrace Ayurveda Boom

From a digital ayurveda database to a doctor consultancy platform and an online pharmacy, companies cash in on the growing opportunity as AYUSH treatments catch on.

- JOE C. MATHEW

WHEN ANIRUDDHA JOSHI, an engineering student, took his father to a doctor who specialises in pulse-based diagnosis technique — Nadi Parikshan — he was amazed to see the wealth of information the practitioner of this age-old system of medicine could extract just by placing his fingers on the patient’s wrist. The technique intrigued him so much that when he began his PhD at IIT Bombay, his focus was on developing the first-ever accurate pulse recording sensor. Today, Pune-based start-up Atreya Innovations sells a digital device called Nadi Tarangini, a patented AI-based instrument based on pulse (nadi) diagnostic system according to ayurvedic principles. It gives a pulse report of 22 ayurvedic parameters along with diet and lifestyle corrective plan within minutes. It even tracks the level of thoughts and stress!

Joshi says his company’s main objective is to develop the world’s most personal and portable health monitor based on ayurveda and data science, helping people globally get back to a healthy and balanced lifestyle. “Our sales team is selling at a rate of one or two devices a day. We have sold our devices to over 1,000 ayurveda clinics, more than 35 ayurveda colleges, four spas and nine yoga studios, touching the lives of over 4.5 lakh patients.”

Joshi is part of a growing tribe of tech entrepreneurs trying to reshape the future of age-old Indian systems of medicine. Start-ups in AYUSH (acronym for ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha, sowa-rigpa and homoeopathy) are blending technology and traditional knowledge to offer a variety of solutions, products and services, ranging from digital clinical decision management and support systems to electronic health records software to digital ayurveda database, e-commerce platforms and online consultation.