HelpNow

HelpNow is an Indian emergency medical transport company that built an aggregated network of private ambulances in Mumbai, alongside its own fleet of HelpNow ambulances. The company positions itself as an on-demand ambulance service, describing the model as "uber for ambulances," with the stated aim of cutting ambulance arrival times from roughly 50 minutes to about 10 minutes. Beyond ground ambulances, listed services include air ambulances, inter-city ambulances, train ambulances, neonatal ambulances and ICU-equipped vehicles.

A second element of the model is "MedCabs": ride-hailing cabs converted into medical first-responder vehicles using a patent-pending mini-ambulance kit combined with medical training for the drivers, intended to widen first-responder coverage beyond the ambulance fleet. During the COVID-19 period the company also developed a dashboard showing hospital bed availability. Services are operated through a 24x7 helpline, running day and night, and the founders state that the company operates at no margin in order to keep prices low.

The company was part of Y Combinator's Winter 2020 batch and is listed on Y Combinator's site with team size 50 and status Inactive, with its three founders listed as former founders.

Founding story

HelpNow began as an entry for EUREKA, the business model competition run by the E-Cell at IIT Bombay, developed by Aditya Makkar and Shikhar Agrawal (2021 batch) during their second semester. The pair had met during the XLR8 robotics competition and had previously worked together on other ventures, including a doorstep food delivery service called Cravy.in and a movie-prop auction project called Clanny. A mentor encouraged them to pursue the ambulance idea commercially. Co-founder Aditya Makkar has cited his father's cardiac arrest shortly before his JEE exam, and the family's reliance on hospital contacts to secure an ambulance in time, as motivation. Venkatesh Amrutwar, a 2017 IIT Bombay graduate and former Overall Coordinator of E-Cell, left his job to join as a co-founder in 2019. The founders obtained permission to drop out of IIT Bombay and rejoin later, which they describe as a first for the institute.

Business model

HelpNow aggregates third-party private ambulances, which it says it inspects regularly for quality, while also operating its own branded ambulance fleet and a converted-cab first-responder network. Requests are placed through a 24x7 helpline. The founders state that the company operates at no margin, keeping prices low, and provides free ambulance service to the Mumbai Police and to people in need. The stated long-term goal was to make the ambulance service completely free by 2024.

Paid emergency and non-emergency medical transport (including air, inter-city, train, neonatal and ICU ambulances), with the founders stating prices are set at no margin; some services, such as those for the Mumbai Police and the needy, are provided free. The company also serves corporate clients and events.

Traction

The founders report growing from an initial 10 lakh INR of funding to INR 7 crore within one year, an ambulance fleet expanding toward 13 owned vehicles, tie-ups with more than a dozen public and private hospitals in Mumbai, and partnerships with the Mumbai Police, municipal corporations and government hospitals during COVID-19. Corporate and event customers include Reliance and Fountainhead, with coverage at Sunburn, Pro Kabaddi and large concerts. Y Combinator lists team size as 50; YourStory lists 11 to 20 employees.

Latest developments

Y Combinator's company page lists HelpNow's status as Inactive and its three founders as former founders. Co-founder Shikhar Agrawal is described as a Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia honoree.