Mumbai: Medical equipment startup Pulse has raised $4 million in a funding round led by 3one4 Capital, with participation from Incubate Fund Asia, Stride Ventures and several angel investors.
Founded in 2025 by Anshul Sharma and Nishant Goel, Pulse designs and manufactures medical equipment for critical care, renal care and cardiac care. The company will use the funds to accelerate product development, secure regulatory certifications and set up a new research and development (R&D) hub in Vizag, Andhra Pradesh. The R&D facility is expected to become operational in March, Sharma, cofounder of Pulse, told ET.
The Bengaluru-based startup works with nearly 20 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), particularly in regions such as Delhi NCR, Jammu, Gujarat, Kolkata, and Mumbai, to manufacture equipment, including blood tubing sets and anaesthesia machines.
According to Sharma, although many MSMEs have strong manufacturing capabilities, they often lack the resources to invest in branding, structured R&D and long-term quality systems.
“Medical equipment requires sustained investment in quality, compliance and brand building,” said Sharma. He further added that many MSMEs focus on short-term sales and are unable to invest heavily in research, regulatory processes and nationwide distribution.
The company said that it addresses this gap by providing structured R&D support and quality frameworks, enabling Indian MSME manufacturers to compete with global players.
The funding comes at a time when investments in healthtech have plunged to their lowest level in five years in 2025, as investor interest in standalone digital solutions not integrated with care delivery has declined, as ET reported in January.
The company currently operates with a 25-member team and is initially targeting mid-tier hospitals with 50–200 beds across India, offering products in critical and renal care. It plans to expand into larger hospital chains and broaden its product portfolio across additional medical specialities over time, Sharma said.
“India’s hospitals continue to rely heavily on imported critical medical devices that are expensive and often backed by inadequate service infrastructure, creating a clear opportunity for dependable, locally manufactured alternatives,” said Akshay Sharma, principal at 3one4 Capital.
As it scales operations and strengthens compliance standards, Pulse expects exports to become a major part of its business, said Sharma.
The latest round also saw participation from angel investors, including the founders of logistics start-up BlackBuck and B2B agri-food processing start-up Agrizy. Pulse is addressing a key structural healthcare gap by building reliable and affordable medical equipment locally, said Rajeev Ranka, India partner at Incubate Fund Asia.
