Arpana Shahi: The Woman Building Gabit’s Bold Longevity Bet

Avinash
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Avinash
Avinash is a dedicated MBA professional with expertise in business operations, team management, and AI-driven content development. Backed by global certifications and published HR research, he...
The Gabit co-founder is building a data-first longevity platform around wearables, blood work, AI coaching, and nutrition. By StartupFeed.

Quick Take

  • Arpana Shahi co-founded Gabit in 2022, an AI-powered longevity platform built around a titanium smart ring.
  • Gabit raised $9.5 Mn (Rs 91 Cr) seed from Norwest, with backers like Deepinder Goyal and Kunal Shah.
  • She is scaling one of India’s few women-led healthtech brands, targeting a data-first preventive health market.

Arpana Shahi is the co-founder of Gabit, an AI-powered longevity platform built around a titanium smart ring, which raised $9.5 Mn (Rs 91 Cr) in seed funding led by Norwest Venture Partners in 2023.

She started the company in 2022 with Gaurav Gupta, a former Zomato co-founder. Based in Gurugram, Gabit tracks more than 150 health markers across fitness, sleep, stress, and nutrition. Shahi, an IIM Calcutta MBA and former founder of SkillTap, now leads one of India’s few women-built healthtech brands, per Gabit’s official platform.

StartupFeed Insight

Shahi is betting on a shift most Indian consumers have not made yet: paying for health data before they fall sick. That is a hard sell in a reactive-care market, but it is also why celebrity capital and Norwest arrived early, they see a category forming. The real test is retention, not sign-ups. A smart ring sells once; a longevity subscription must earn renewal every month through blood work, coaching, and Näck supplements. Watch Gabit’s paid-user retention and its next priced round through 2026. If both hold, StartupFeed expects Gabit to close a Series A above $25 Mn by mid-2027. By Avinash.

Who Is Arpana Shahi?

Arpana Shahi is an Indian entrepreneur and the co-founder of Gabit, a longevity-focused healthtech company. She holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (2005), one of India’s top business schools.

Before Gabit, Shahi founded SkillTap and worked across consumer tech ventures, per her professional record on Arpana Shahi’s LinkedIn profile. Her earlier roles spanned telecom and skilling, giving her a mix of operations and brand-building experience.

At industry events, Shahi has spoken plainly about the extra weight women founders carry. Only 2.3% of venture capital reaches female entrepreneurs in India, according to data cited at a TV9 SHEconomy panel where she appeared. She remains one of the more visible women leaders in a sector dominated by male founders.

“Any woman who is successful has never got it easy. That’s not to say men do not work hard, but women have to work a bit harder to achieve the same thing,” Shahi said at the panel.

About Gabit

Gabit is a Gurugram-based longevity platform founded in 2022 by Gaurav Gupta and Arpana Shahi. It sells a titanium smart ring paired with an AI health coach named PEP, blood work, personalised nutrition, and skincare. The company operates under BetterLife Horizons Private Limited and employs roughly 54 people. Its top investors include Norwest Venture Partners, Deepinder Goyal, and Kunal Shah.

What Is Gabit Building?

Gabit is an AI-powered longevity platform that turns everyday health tracking into measurable outcomes. Its titanium smart ring monitors more than 150 markers spanning sleep, recovery, activity, stress, and nutrition, according to Gabit’s official blog.

The system runs on a simple loop: track, find gaps, act, and measure again. Users start with the ring or blood work, then use coaching and supplements to fix weak spots. The AI coach, PEP, adds voice-based food logging and personalised plans. In December 2025, Gabit acquired Swedish nutrition brand Näck, becoming the first health wearable company globally to launch its own supplement line.

Who Backs Gabit and Why?

Gabit raised $9.5 Mn (Rs 91 Cr) in seed funding led by Norwest Venture Partners in 2023, shortly after its founding. Data platform Tracxn lists cumulative funding of $17.7 Mn across four rounds as of 2026.

“Health in India has always been reactive, something we think about only when something goes wrong. With Ranbir on board, we’re changing that story,” Shahi said on the company’s celebrity partnership.

Angel backers include Amit Agarwal of Amazon, Deepinder Goyal of Zomato, and Kunal Shah of CRED. Actor Ranbir Kapoor and musician Badshah joined the cap table in 2025. Recent MCA filings show two fresh tranches in early 2026, Rs 16.6 Cr in March and Rs 19.6 Cr in April, raised through pre-Series A5 convertible preference shares, per Dealroom’s company data.

How Does Gabit Compare to Rivals?

Gabit competes in India’s fast-growing smart ring and wearable healthtech sector, where several funded players are racing for share. Its main rivals are Ultrahuman, Muse Wearables, and HART.

Company Focus Recent Funding
Gabit Smart ring, blood work, supplements, skincare $9.5 Mn seed (2023)
Ultrahuman Smart ring, metabolic tracking $48 Mn (March 2026)
Muse Wearables Smart ring, wearables Early-stage

Ultrahuman leads on capital and posted a net profit of Rs 71.5 Cr in FY25, according to its MCA filings. What sets Gabit apart is its full-stack loop, one platform linking the ring, diagnostics, supplements, and skincare, rather than a single tracking device.

What’s Next

Gabit’s near-term milestone is converting its ongoing pre-Series A5 round into a larger priced institutional round, expected within 2026. The company is also deepening its Näck nutrition integration so users can see supplement effects in their own sleep and recovery data. Can a women-led, full-stack longevity brand out-execute better-funded single-product rivals? That is Shahi’s central bet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Arpana Shahi?
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Arpana Shahi is the co-founder of Gabit, an Indian AI-powered longevity platform. She holds an MBA from IIM Calcutta and earlier founded SkillTap. She started Gabit in 2022 with former Zomato co-founder Gaurav Gupta and is one of India’s few women healthtech founders.

What does Gabit do?
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Gabit is a longevity platform that combines a titanium smart ring, an AI health coach called PEP, blood work, supplements, and skincare. The ring tracks over 150 health markers across fitness, sleep, stress, and nutrition, giving users measurable, data-driven insights on their daily health.

How much funding has Gabit raised?
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Gabit raised $9.5 Mn (Rs 91 Cr) in seed funding led by Norwest Venture Partners in 2023. Tracxn lists cumulative funding of $17.7 Mn across four rounds. In early 2026, MCA filings showed fresh pre-Series A5 tranches of Rs 16.6 Cr and Rs 19.6 Cr.

Who are Gabit’s investors?
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Gabit’s lead investor is Norwest Venture Partners. Angel backers include Amit Agarwal of Amazon, Deepinder Goyal of Zomato, and Kunal Shah of CRED. Actor Ranbir Kapoor and musician Badshah joined the cap table in 2025, adding celebrity capital to the healthtech brand.

Who are Gabit’s main competitors?
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Gabit’s main competitors are Ultrahuman, Muse Wearables, and HART in India’s smart ring sector. Ultrahuman leads on capital, raising $48 Mn in March 2026 and posting a Rs 71.5 Cr net profit in FY25. Gabit differentiates through a full-stack model linking ring, diagnostics, supplements, and skincare.

Written by Avinash. Have a tip? Write to us at editorial@startupfeed.in.

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Avinash is a dedicated MBA professional with expertise in business operations, team management, and AI-driven content development. Backed by global certifications and published HR research, he leverages innovation and strategic management to drive organizational success.