KJ Dhaliwal sold his South Asian dating app for $50M – now, he’s taking a bet on the future of healthcare
Seeing a doctor powered by artificial intelligence (for free) is no longer a futuristic concept.
KJ Dhaliwal, for one, has spent years building consumer technology, most notably in the dating app space, but his latest company points toward a different future that many once thought was still far off.
In 2024, he launched Lotus Health, a free primary care service that combines artificial intelligence with licensed physicians. Today, that startup has raised a total of $41 million in funding, including its recent $35 million Series A round that closed this week.
The model is yet another reflection of a growing shift toward AI-assisted medicine, where software handles the front lines of care and doctors step in at the moments that matter most.
Seeing the system’s gaps up close
Growing up, Dhaliwal said in an interview with TechCrunch that he often translated during medical visits for his parents, which was an experience that exposed him early to the practical and language barriers many families face when seeking care. That perspective would later shape his interest in building healthcare tools designed to be accessible and easy to use.
Before turning to healthcare, Dhaliwal founded and sold Dil Mil, a South Asian dating app, for $50 million. It was a point at which many founders might choose to step back, but Dhaliwal instead chose to move toward a far more complex challenge.
With a background in engineering and finance, and years of experience leading a consumer startup, he entered healthcare with a rare combination of technical skill and operational experience. Applying those strengths to clinical care, however, introduced a new level of complexity – one that required balancing speed and innovation with medical safety, regulatory requirements, and legal accountability.
‘Imagine the power of 1,000 doctors working in your pocket’
Lotus Health launched a few years ago with a hybrid approach to care. Its AI system collects patient histories and symptoms in nearly 50 languages and uses evidence-based medicine to generate draft care plans. Final decisions, including diagnoses and prescriptions, are then reviewed and approved by real physicians licensed across all 50 states.
To build trust, Lotus Health operates under HIPAA rules and carries malpractice insurance, even while offering care at no cost. The company says its system allows doctors to see far more patients than a traditional practice – roughly ten times as many – by handling the equivalent of a 15-minute visit more efficiently.
Earlier this week, the startup announced it had raised $35 million in a Series A round led by CRV and Kleiner Perkins, bringing total funding to about $41 million. Partner at Silicon Valley venture firm Saar Gur also joined the board, who’s led early investments in other well-known startups, including DoorDash and Ring.
“Healthcare startups struggle to scale because they either build for whoever pays the most – hospitals, insurers, pharma – or they push costs onto patients, Gur said in their press release. “Either way, patient trust gets compromised. Lotus Health AI knows how to rewire the incentives, so they can grow without either. That’s the unlock.”
A new approach to a system under pressure
What makes Lotus Health stand out isn’t just it’s futuristic technology – it’s where it comes from. Dhaliwal isn’t approaching healthcare as an abstract market opportunity. He’s building from lived experience, shaped by years of navigating systems that weren’t designed for families like his.
That perspective shows up in the company’s most defining choice so far, especially when it comes to making healthcare free, nationwide, and available at any hour, even before the business model is fully locked in.
For founders, it’s also a bold and risky stance, with potential for the highest of reward. Lotus is tackling a massive, obvious problem – millions of people who can’t access timely primary care – but doing so in one of the most regulated, scrutinized industries imaginable.
