Building on the momentum and national impact of the DHN HealthTech Innovation Challenge 2024, held in collaboration with IIIT-B, this year’s edition raises the bar- widening the stage for solutions that are ready to serve India’s most urgent healthcare needs.
The DHN HealthTech Innovation Challenge 2025 is India’s most premier platform for identifying, accelerating, and empowering digital health solutions that are built to solve the nation’s most pressing healthcare challenges- at scale, with credibility, and real-world impact.
We are committed to empowering mid-stage startups to large scale-ups with the tools, networks, and visibility they need to drive large-scale impact. The challenge is focused on bold innovations that enable AI-led primary care, unlock ABDM-based interoperability, expand mental health access at scale, and power continuous digital care for chronic conditions.
We’re backing solutions built for the real world. If you're enabling frontline care with AI, building on the ABDM stack, or delivering care that works across systems and geographies, this challenge puts your work where it belongs: on a national platform, built for scale.
Showcase your solution to hospital CXOs from India and the US, leading healthtech investors, digital health pioneers, and key ecosystem enablers- people who drive decisions on what gets adopted, funded, and scaled. The evaluation is led by a jury panel with deep operational, clinical, and technical expertise- bringing together those who’ve built and led healthcare systems across geographies.
Finalists will earn access to top hospital CXOs, investors, and digital health leaders from leading hospitals, funds, and institutions across India and the US. This is where serious solutions meet the people- and platforms- that can take them nationwide and a space on DigitalHealthPlace.com- India’s first curated marketplace for digital health.
Mid-stage startups to late-stage scale-ups working in digital health
Companies with a functional product and demonstrated traction
Solutions that align with the focus categories
Teams committed to building for scale, adoption, and health outcomes
All entries will be evaluated by our expert jury based on the following parameters:
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Originality, technical strength, and relevance.
Potential for national or system-level deployment.
Demonstrated need, traction, and demand.
Experience, execution, and domain knowledge.
Ability to improve healthcare access, outcomes, or efficiency.
Unleash Your Innovation. Shape the Future.
This is your moment to show how your solution makes a difference.
Access mentorship, gain visibility, and unlock scale opportunities through DHN’s ecosystem and platforms like DigitalHealthPlace.com.
Present your work at Demo Day to top VCs, hospital administrators, health ministry officials, and industry leaders.
Being selected as a finalist signals that your solution isn’t just innovative—it’s relevant, impactful, and ready to scale.
Use this platform to unlock real-world deployment, investment interest, and high-value partnerships that can take your innovation further.
Founder & CEO - Digital Health News & ScaleHealthTech, Atlanta, GA
Partner-Healthcare, Mavin Ventures
Chief Medical Information Officer & Vice President -Apollo Hospitals
Group Director-Nursing Excellence, Sarvodaya Healthcare
SVP - Chief Information and Digital Strategy Officer, SBH Health System, New York
Chief Medical Information Officer & Vice President -Apollo Hospitals
Chief Medical Information Officer & Vice President -Apollo Hospitals
Chief Medical Information Officer & Vice President -Apollo Hospitals
Application submission opens.
Final date for online application submissions.
Review, shortlist, and notify selected startups.
Selected startups will present their solutions to the jury.
Scoring, communication to finalists, and Demo Day invitations.
Live showcase and award distribution at IIT Delhi.
Integration of winners and runners-up into the DHN partner ecosystem.
The DHN HealthTech Innovation Challenge 2025 invites entries in four high-impact categories that reflect the most urgent priorities in India’s digital health landscape.
India faces a chronic shortage of specialists and diagnostic infrastructure beyond Tier 1 cities. This category focuses on AI-powered solutions that support early diagnosis, triage, and clinical decision-making in primary care and rural settings.
India is building the world’s largest public digital health infrastructure. This category seeks solutions leveraging the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) for seamless data exchange, record management, and system-level interoperability.
India’s mental health crisis demands digital-first models that are scalable, anonymous, and culturally adapted. This category focuses on expanding access for underserved populations.
India carries one of the world’s highest burdens of chronic disease, yet care remains fragmented. This category is for solutions that offer integrated, longitudinal care pathways across conditions like diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular illness, or cancer.