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IKS Health CEO sees growth surge for tech services as US govt drives down healthcare spends

The total TAM (total addressable market) is about $225 billion, of which only $34 billion has been outsourced, Gupta said in a recent interview

May 28, 2025 / 21:16 IST
IKS Health provides a suite of technology-enabled operational services to US healthcare organizations
     
     
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    Inventurus Knowledge Solutions (IKS Health), a company backed by the late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's Rare Enterprises, is betting on a seismic shift in how US healthcare providers operate, seeing a potential $225 billion market ripe for the kind of comprehensive "TechOps" platform the company offers, CEO Sachin Gupta told Moneycontrol.

    Fresh from a strong fiscal year bolstered by a major acquisition, Gupta is positioning IKS to capitalize on what he calls "a whole new industry waiting to happen."

    "The total TAM (total addressable market) is about $225 billion, of which only $34 billion has been outsourced," Gupta said in a recent interview.  "There's a huge white space for our model to actually play out," he added.

    IKS Health provides a suite of technology-enabled operational services to US healthcare organizations, from clinical documentation and medical coding to revenue cycle management and patient engagement. The company's strategy hinges on its ability to be a one-stop shop, offering a platform that covers 16 distinct "chores" that physicians and hospitals currently handle, often inefficiently. This comprehensive approach, Gupta argues, is what differentiates IKS in a crowded field of point-solution vendors.

    "We are the only company in the world that has built the full breadth of the platform," Gupta said, noting that three of the five major deals won in the fourth quarter were for this full platform offering. This, coupled with the integration of AQuity Solutions – a similarly sized company acquired in October 2023 – helped IKS Health post a 47% year-on-year revenue growth for FY25, reaching Rs 2664 crore ($306 million), and a 50% jump in EBITDA.

    AI, efficiency, and the AQuity factor

    A key driver of IKS Health's strategy is the aggressive adoption of artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI. "We are already building Gen AI for maybe nine of those 16 features," Gupta revealed. "The biggest benefit of Gen AI is going to be the fact that we can continue to scale our business rapidly in a non-human dependent model." He highlighted the launch of "Scribble Now," a fully autonomous clinical documentation product, as an example of this push.

    This tech-led approach is central to unlocking efficiencies, both for IKS and its clients, and is particularly crucial in the ongoing integration of AQuity. IKS acquired AQuity Solutions, a U.S.-based health-tech firm, for $200 million (approximately ₹1,600 crore) in November 2023.

    CFO Nithya Balasubramanian, during the company's Q4 FY25 earnings call on May 16, 2025, elaborated on the margin improvements. "EBITDA margins have gone from the 24% pro forma that we had in FY24 to now Q4 FY25 has come in a little off of 31% EBITDA," she stated. "It's been driven by...the transformation of AQuity's business model, where we have been able to do both a combination of deployment of IKS's tech as well as changing the mix from onshore to offshore." For the full fiscal year 2025, the company reported an EBITDA margin of 29.7%.

    Gupta expects these margins to climb further. "Our margins that are at 31.2%...are likely to go up further...to somewhere between the early to mid-30s," he projected, anticipating stabilization at that level in late FY26 or FY27.

    Competitive market

    The US healthcare landscape is undergoing significant pressure to "bend the cost curve," a trend Gupta sees as a "huge tailwind" for IKS. "I think President Trump, both the DOGE initiatives, everything that he's trying to do with HHS, CMS, I think it has made people realize that the need for efficiency is critical and urgent," he observed.

    However, the path isn't without hurdles. A March 2025 J.P. Morgan report noted that the AQuity acquisition "has complicated the equity story," leading to a slowdown in organic growth and initial margin dilution. The report also highlighted the "high competition" from specialized vendors and captives.

    Gupta acknowledged the "significant competitive intensity backed by large pools of capital" but believes IKS's platform approach and focus on delivering outcomes will be key differentiators. "I'm finding that there is a fatigue emerging in buyers of buying the next best AI point solution and then figuring out whether it delivers value or not," he said.

    Looking forward, while declining to give specific guidance, Gupta maintained a bullish long-term stance. "We will continue to grow faster than the market that is growing at 12%," he affirmed. "And...our earnings growth will continue to be faster than the revenue growth." He added that the company's sales pipeline is currently at an "all-time high," signaling strong potential demand for its integrated solutions as U.S. healthcare providers increasingly look to outsource and optimize their operations.

    Viswanath Pilla
    Viswanath Pilla is a business journalist with 16 years of reporting experience. Based in Mumbai, Pilla covers pharma, healthcare and infrastructure sectors for Moneycontrol.
    first published: May 28, 2025 09:15 pm

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