IHH Healthcare launches Global Incubator to fuel game-changing innovation

By enabling early-stage start-ups to bring breakthrough ideas to life, IHH is catalysing next-level care and driving imoact across the healthcare ecosystem

New Delhi: IHH Healthcare, a leading multinational healthcare provider, today announced its new Global Incubator Programme to empower promising early-stage startups in developing transformative healthcare solutions.

Unveiled by its Group Chief Corporate Officer Ashok Pandit at the Group's 3 rd Annual 'Igniting Innovation in Healthcare' Conference in Hong Kong, the programme seeks to nurture early-stage companies who are working on breakthrough technologies and ideas that can materially improve patient care and outcomes and tackle critical healthcare challenges of today.

IHH will collaborate with selected healthcare startups from across the globe through three-month cycles that provide mentorship from IHH leaders and clinicians. These startups will have the opportunity to co-develop, test, and refine their solutions in real-world healthcare settings, supported by access to IHH's extensive resources and infrastructure. Additionally, promising innovations will have scaling pathways through potential partnerships across IHH's global network.

Successful startups may also qualify for funding through IHH's Innovation Fund or Research Grant and Innovation Sandbox.

With this latest initiative, IHH strengthens its commitment to advancing innovation and forging strategic partnerships that can shape the future of care.

Igniting Innovation in Healthcare Conference

IHH is holding its 3 rd Igniting Innovation in Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, 8 October 2025 at the Hong Kong Ocean Park Marriott Hotel from 9:30am to 7.30pm.

Held annually since 2023, the flagship event explores how innovation can address the healthcare challenges of today and tomorrow. By bringing together global leaders and stakeholders across the healthcare ecosystem, including providers, payers, start-ups, investors and policymakers, the Conference aims to foster collaboration and development of innovative solutions that elevate patient care.

This year's theme, "Healthcare Reimagined", spotlighted the intersection of technology and empathy in delivering patient care. From designing AI that complements care to rethinking patient experiences, the Conference showcased bold ideas that are shaping the next decade of healthcare through a dynamic mix of keynotes, fireside chats, panel discussions, lightning talks and live pitches designed to inspire fresh thinking and practical action among the 150 attendees.

Some of the key speakers this year included: John Gillman, Head of APAC Strategic Health Solutions, Google; Dr NT Cheung, Head of Information Technology and Health Informatics, Hong Kong Hospital Authority and CEO of EHealth Plus Digital (a wholly owned subsidiary of Hospital Authority); Dr Alex Ng, President of Tencent Healthcare, Head of Tencent AI for Life Sciences Lab and Head of Tencent Inclusive Health Lab; and Ali Hashemi, Co-founder of Meta[bolic] and Glucare.Health.

Past editions were held in Mumbai, India (2024) and Singapore (2023).

SGD 80 Million Innovation Fund & SGD 5 Million Research Grant & Innovation Sandbox programme

IHH's innovation drive began in 2018, with an SGD80 million Innovation Fund to invest in and partner with startups developing novel and cutting-edge healthcare technologies. Through strategic investments in promising startups such as Leo Cancer Care, Belun Technology, Doctor Anywhere, and Us2.ai, the fund has enabled IHH to expand its capabilities and service offerings across its healthcare network.

To further cultivate innovation from within, IHH launched a SGD5 million Research Grant & Innovation Sandbox programme in March 2025, to accelerate clinical research and innovation across its global network. Disbursed over five years, the fund empowers IHH clinicians and employees to pursue impactful clinical research and pilot ground-up, innovative ideas that address critical health issues, driving advancements that improve patient experiences and outcomes.

The first grant call focused on oncology and chronic diseases saw seven Research Grant projects and eight Innovation Sandbox applications shortlisted from 55 submissions.

Under the Clinical Research track, each project is expected to publish its findings and outcomes as part of its contribution to the wider healthcare literature. The projects under the Innovation Sandbox track will test ideas that demonstrate clear impact such as scalability across IHH markets, cost savings, improved patient outcomes and better patient experience.

Innovation Showcase

Malaysia:

* Premier Integrated Labs introduced PathoInsight-T, an AI tool for cervical cancer screening, in 2024 – enabling fast, consistent, and reliable analysis of digitised cytology images while easing the workload of cytoscreeners and cytopathologists;

* Gleneagles Hospital Johor is the first hospital in Malaysia to use AI for detection of anomalies in chest and brain imaging – through Annalise.ai, it is able to detect up to 124 abnormalities in under 20 seconds for chest X-rays, and up to 130 abnormalities in under two minutes for brain CT scans, setting a new benchmark in accuracy and efficiency;

* Through the Innovation Sandbox, IHH Malaysia is piloting an AI-powered solution that automates cancer grading and predicts BRCA mutation status from routine slides -promising faster, more consistent results at lower costs while improving access to precision oncology across IHH facilities.

Singapore:

* IHH invested in homegrown start-ups such as Lucence, Intellect, Doctor Anywhere, and US2.ai, scaling their innovative solutions across its markets to enhance patient care and outcomes – Lucence has enhanced early cancer screening and supports clinicians in selecting optimal treatments with advanced therapy technology; Intellect services are integrated into our maternity care, offering a more comprehensive support for new mothers;

* IHH Singapore pioneered an AI-powered nurse rostering tool – NurseShift.ai – which won Best Practice Medal at the 2025 National Healthcare Innovation & Productivity (NHIP) Awards for helping Nurse Managers cut their time spent on roster management by more than 50% while giving nurses greater flexibility in their schedules; also deploying an AI-powered fall prevention system in all hospital wards that pre-empts nurses about patient fall to enhance patient safety while reducing unnecessary checks by nurses.

* Through the Innovation Sandbox, Parkway Shenton is trialling a next-generation health app that provides AI-powered, coach-guided support for patients with chronic diseases, turning care into a continuous, personalised experience.

Turkiye:

* Acibadem Healthcare has developed an AI-powered Speech to Text (STT) solution within its Cerebral+ 2.0 hospital information system platform that accurately interprets complex medical terms and transcribes examination conversations, with about 94% accuracy and 84% semantic similarity. The system is undergoing performance evaluations before wider clinical rollout;

* Another in-house solution, SepsisAI, predicts sepsis risk in intensive care patients by analysing vital signs and lab results such as peripheral oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, blood pressure and blood tests. It proactively alerts clinicians to abnormal trends to extend the intervention window, supporting early diagnosis, improving safety, and enhancing survival outcomes;

* Also developed by Acibadem, FaturaAI gathers information from millions of past invoice records to predict refund risks and identify likely causes using clinical and administrative data. The innovation reduces manual review workload, invoice errors, and financial losses while fostering a predictive, data-driven decision-making culture across the organisation.

India:

* Fortis Healthcare is collaborating with Virtuleap to deploy virtual reality for greater patient engagement in cognitive therapy and rehabilitation at its hospitals;

* Gleneagles Hospital Chennai is partnering with VIT University to pioneer AI-led neuroscience, supporting clinical applications in areas such as epilepsy care, neuro-oncology, neurorehabilitation and cognitive health monitoring;

* Through the Innovation Sandbox, Fortis Memorial Research Institute is piloting FortisTR, a secure mobile app that acts as a “virtual caregiver” with real-time alerts, wearable integration and medication adherence tools, bringing continuous care to patients and families while reducing unplanned readmissions.

Hong Kong:

* IHH invested in local startup Belun Technology and introduced its home-based sleep disorder diagnostics and screening technology across Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, India and Turkiye;

* IHH North Asia established an AI Lab in June 2025 to advance patient care, service quality and operational efficiency by enabling researchers and innovators to develop and test AI-powered healthcare solutions;

* Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong has collaborated with PanopticAI to integrate the startup’s contactless camera-based vital signs face scanning solution (heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate etc) into the hospital’s patient mobile application. The function now supports teleconsultation service, giving doctors real-time access to the vital sign measurements;

* Though the Innovation Sandbox, Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong is piloting the use of Electronic Medical Record-driven AI to identify patients at risk of sleep apnea and offer them in-home Belun Ring testing with telecare follow-up, enabling earlier, more affordable detection with potential to scale to other chronic diseases.

Brunei:

* At Gleneagles JPMC, a specialised cardiac centre, the use of US2.ai’s echo analysis has cut the time needed to detect heart disease by 30 to 50%.

Credit: BioVoice News Desk