Dr. Krishna Prasad Rao Vunnam on How Ankura Hospital is Redefining Women & Child Healthcare in India

StartupTalky presents Recap'25, a series of exclusive interviews where we connect with founders and industry leaders to reflect on their journey in 2025 and discuss their vision for the future.

In this edition of Recap’25, StartupTalky speaks with Dr. Krishna Prasad Rao Vunnam, Founder and Managing Director of Ankura Hospital, one of India’s fastest-growing healthcare groups dedicated exclusively to women and children. From a single neighbourhood hospital in Hyderabad to a rapidly expanding multi-city network, Ankura has built a specialised ecosystem spanning maternity, pediatrics, neonatology, and fertility care.

In this conversation, Dr. Rao Unnam shares how 2025 marked a year of rising patient trust, stronger clinical outcomes, and strategic expansion for the group. He discusses evolving patient expectations, the growing role of digital health and AI in improving care delivery, and how Ankura is balancing rapid scale with personalised, compassionate healthcare. He also highlights the future of preventive, high-risk, and fertility care in India, and the critical shifts hospitals must make to remain truly patient-centric while growing sustainably.

StartupTalky: Could you briefly tell us about the hospital/group, its core focus areas, and the patient segments you primarily serve?

Dr. Krishna Prasad Rao Vunnam: Ankura Hospital is one of India’s fastest-growing healthcare groups dedicated exclusively to women and children. Established in 2012 as a neighbourhood hospital in Hyderabad, Ankura has grown into a pan-India network with 14 world-class centres across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha, with expansion into Madhya Pradesh underway. In 2022, Ankura took a significant step forward with the launch of 9M Birth and Beyond, a holistic initiative designed to support women through every stage of pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood, while ensuring seamless pediatric care for children. A highly specific division of Ankura is 9M Fertility, created to address the growing incidence of infertility through advanced, evidence-based, and predictable fertility treatments.

The group’s core focus areas include obstetrics, gynecology, and maternity care; neonatology, pediatrics and pediatric super-specialties; fertility and reproductive medicine with comprehensive mother-and-child wellness services. 

Ankura primarily serves women, newborns, children, adolescents, and families across communities, with the aim of bringing specialised, high-quality healthcare closer to their doorsteps, making good health accessible, affordable, and reliable. By combining clinical expertise, technology, and a compassionate care, Ankura continues to set new benchmarks in women and child healthcare in India.

StartupTalky: How would you describe 2025 for your organisation in terms of patient demand, clinical outcomes, and operational growth?

Dr. Krishna Prasad Rao Vunnam: 2025 has been a year of steady and meaningful progress for Ankura. We have witnessed a consistent rise in demand across our maternity, pediatrics, and fertility services, reflecting the growing trust of the community in our specialised services for women and children. This increased demand has been matched by a strong focus on clinical outcomes, with continued improvements in maternal and neonatal outcomes through standardized care protocols and the consistent adoption of evidence-based practices across all our centres. 

From an operational standpoint, 2025 has been marked by strategic expansion and capacity building. We are set to expand into Madhya Pradesh, alongside the continued strengthening and expansion of our fertility division to meet the growing demand for advanced reproductive care. This growth has been supported by the strengthening of our clinical and operational teams and sustained investments in technology and infrastructure, ensuring growth without compromising quality. We are dedicated to managing growth while maintaining high standards of safety and care delivery, through process optimisation, clinician-led governance, and patient-centric systems.

StartupTalky: What were the most noticeable changes in patient expectations or healthcare delivery patterns that you observed this year?

Dr. Krishna Prasad Rao Vunnam: In 2025, we observed a noticeable shift in patient expectations and healthcare delivery patterns. Patients are increasingly seeking personalised, specialised care that is accessible and convenient, with a strong emphasis on safety and transparency. There has also been a growing preference for comprehensive care models, where maternity, fertility, and pediatric services are integrated under one roof, allowing families to receive holistic care.

Additionally, the adoption of digital health tools, from teleconsultations to online appointment systems, has grown significantly, reflecting patients’ desire for efficiency and ease of access. Overall, these changes highlight that the families seeking care are more informed and proactive, which has encouraged us to continuously enhance both the quality and convenience of the care we provide.

StartupTalky: How has technology, such as digital records, AI-driven diagnostics, or remote care, played a role in improving efficiency or patient experience at your hospital?

Dr. Krishna Prasad Rao Vunnam: Technology has played a crucial role in enhancing both efficiency and patient experience at Ankura. Digital health records streamline clinical data, providing a single place for clinicians to access all essential patient information, saving time and improving communication across departments. AI-driven diagnostics support faster and more precise decision-making, helping our teams identify risks early and deliver timely interventions.

Moreover, remote care solutions, including teleconsultations and online follow-ups, have made specialised healthcare more accessible, reducing travel and waiting times for patients while maintaining continuity of care. Through remote care, we have been able to extend services to rural and underserved areas, providing high-quality care even when patients cannot travel, including high-risk pregnancy management, neonatal care, and pediatric super-specialty consultations. 

Together, these technologies enable us to provide safer, faster, and more personalised care, aligning with our commitment to bringing high-quality healthcare closer to the homes of those who seek it.

StartupTalky: What have been the key operational or regulatory challenges faced in 2025, and how has the organisation adapted to address them?

Dr. Krishna Prasad Rao Vunnam: For Ankura, the key operational challenges in 2025 included adapting to evolving regulatory requirements, ensuring our workforce could keep pace with growing patient demand and specialised care needs, and maintaining consistent care standards while expanding operations across regions. To address these challenges, we focused on strengthening clinical and operational teams, investing in training and upskilling, and implementing standardised processes and patient-centric systems. These measures have enabled us to scale sustainably while continuing to deliver high-quality, safe, and reliable care.

StartupTalky: Looking ahead to 2026, which areas of healthcare delivery or specialisation do you see gaining the most importance for hospitals in India?

Dr. Krishna Prasad Rao Vunnam: Looking ahead to 2026, there are several areas that can gain importance for hospitals in India. Preventive and personalised care will continue to grow, with greater emphasis on early detection, risk-based screening, and tailored treatment pathways. In women and child healthcare, high-risk obstetrics, advanced neonatal care, and pediatric super-specialties will remain critical, given the rising clinical complexity as seen in high-risk pregnancies and preterm births, along with improved survival rates. Fertility and reproductive medicine are also expected to see sustained demand, driven by changing lifestyles, delayed parenthood, and increasing awareness.

In terms of delivery, a continued focus on clinical governance, patient safety, and outcome-driven care will be critical as patients become more informed and aware. Hospitals are expected to deliver specialised expertise through accessible, compassionate, and well-coordinated care, supported by strong clinical outcomes.

StartupTalky: From your experience, what is one critical shift hospitals must make to remain patient-centric while scaling sustainably in the coming years?

Dr. Krishna Prasad Rao Vunnam: One critical shift that the hospitals must make in the coming years is to balance the use of AI and technology with truly personalised care. While digital tools and AI can greatly improve the efficiency and accuracy they must be used to support, not replace, clinical judgement and human connection.

Sustainable growth will depend on using technology to streamline processes and enhance decision-making, while ensuring care remains tailored to individual patient needs. Hospitals should successfully combine technological advancement with empathy, clinician-led care, and personalised patient engagement to scale responsibly while remaining genuinely patient-centric.

Explore more Recap'25 interviews here.