London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jul 25, 2025

Indian health platform wants to nourish mind, body and soul

The Indian start-up Cure.fit began in 2016 as a fitness app like many others, offering gym memberships and exercise classes to young adults in Bangalore.

But it has since transformed into one of India's top health platforms, with meal and grocery deliveries, online workouts, mindfulness classes, appointments at its health centers and even an online store for fitness gear.

The spread of coronavirus spurred the business to further reinvent itself, from one primarily reliant on physical gyms to an international online fitness platform.

This summer Cure.fit announced its digital expansion into the US, where it has begun offering online fitness and therapy sessions.

"Lockdown has expedited these efforts," Shamik Sharma, Cure.fit's head of international business, tells CNN Business. "When we saw the demand for our app in the United States, we launched rapidly," he adds.

Quick reaction to Covid-19


Like businesses all over the world, Cure.fit was forced to re-strategize in response to the pandemic.

It shut the doors to all of its 250 plus fitness and health centers in March, when India locked down parts of the country. So far, it has reopened 30 centers, in compliance with government regulations, with more scheduled to open in the coming months. But some centers are expected to close permanently, says the company.

It has had to cut jobs and furlough workers — Cure.fit declined to comment on the number of staff affected, but Reuters and TechCrunch have reported that at least 800 employees have been laid off in the past few months. In the same May report, Reuters pegged Cure.fit's staff count at 5,000 across India, citing an anonymous source.

The company, which has raised more than $400 million in funding, was at risk of coming to a complete standstill — before March, at least 60% of Cure.fit's revenues were generated by its physical fitness studios, according to the company.


Instead, lockdown has accelerated the company's pivot to online.

"When our gyms closed, we immediately knew that our customers would miss in-person classes so we created live classes through our app," says Sharma.

The Cure.fit app hosts more than 200,000 sessions daily in India, with instructor-led online classes ranging from strength to pilates, cardio and yoga.

During the pandemic, this platform has thrived. Since the start of India's lockdown, the company says it has signed up 1.5 million users in the country and amassed 100,000 paid subscribers since launching a paywall in May.

In the US, the company has reported 75,000 downloads since testing for the app began in May. Cure.fit currently offers its live sessions there for free, but plans to introduce a subscription model by the end of the year.

India's healthcare apps


While the virus has prompted more interest in healthcare apps, India already had a well-developed market. Pre-pandemic, the market for such apps was projected to grow in value from 27 billion rupees ($360 million) in 2018 to 138 billion rupees ($1.8 billion) by 2024, according to a report from Netscribes, an India-based technology and market research firm.

This is primarily credited to technological advances, including falling device and mobile data costs, says Lalatendu Sahoo, a senior consultant at Netscribes.

"People are also becoming more and more health conscious," says Sahoo, particularly younger generations living in big cities. "They are more familiar with the internet, they're more comfortable with mobile devices ... and they are really trying to add the wellness factor into their day-to-day life," he adds.

Cure.fit wanted to attract this millennial market by selling a whole lifestyle through its range of food, therapy and fitness services.

"The idea was to build a one-stop solution for anything health and wellness," Ankit Nagori, who co-founded Cure.fit with Mukesh Bansal, tells CNN Business.
"We want to build a community of fitness enthusiasts who would like to lead a healthy lifestyle and promote healthy living," he adds.

Cure.fit wanted to attract this millennial market by selling a whole lifestyle through its range of food, therapy and fitness services.

"The idea was to build a one-stop solution for anything health and wellness," Ankit Nagori, who co-founded Cure.fit with Mukesh Bansal, tells CNN Business.
"We want to build a community of fitness enthusiasts who would like to lead a healthy lifestyle and promote healthy living," he adds.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×