Cera is Europe’s largest HealthTech – using technology and AI to take healthcare from hospital to home, prevent avoidable hospitalisations, ease NHS pressures and save the Government over $1 million daily.
Launched in 2016, Cera has grown rapidly, now with c. $500 million in annualised revenues and over 10,000 staff, spanning 150 regulated sites across the UK and Germany. Cera delivers care on behalf of over a hundred UK local authorities and almost two-thirds of NHS ICBs (integrated care boards), covering a population spanning 30 million people.
Cera’s carers and nurses deliver c.2.5 million patient home visits a month – a volume greater than all NHS A&E departments combined – counting a visit every second, on average.
At each visit, they log patient symptoms and observations digitally – helping Cera create Europe’s largest home healthcare dataset, standing at over 230 billion datapoints, rich with insight into how people are ageing. This dataset powers the development of Cera’s cutting-edge AI tools, including a Falls Prevention AI and a Hospitalisation Predict-Prevent tool which have enabled Cera to cut patient falls by 20% – the leading cause of hospitalisations in over-65s – and reduce hospitalisations by up to 70%.
With data showing c.1 million hospitalisations of older people could be avoided through better preventative care, Cera is proving social care’s role as the frontline of prevention for over-65s – improving patients’ lives, easing NHS pressures, with a model that is 10-times more affordable than hospital care.
A scale-up success story
Not only is Cera Europe’s largest HealthTech, it is also one of its fastest-growing at-scale HealthTechs, expanding from $5m to c.$500million in revenues over the past five years. Cera’s journey also marks the fastest journey of a European at-scale HealthTech towards profitability. Just eight years after launch, the company is now free cash flow positive and EBITDA-positive, with operations generating $70 million EBITDA.
Growing the care talent pool
Just as important as prevention in solving the UK’s care challenge, is rebuilding the care workforce. Cera is combining cutting-edge technology with industry-leading training to grow the care talent pool – attracting 1 million new carer and nurse applicants to Cera over the past two years alone (half from outside the sector) – the same number of new workers needed across the whole of health and social care over the next 14 years. Cera is also working to make care more of a career, delivering 1 million hours of training to date. The company has developed proprietary AI tools which speed up recruitment, scale high-quality training, improve staff retention and boost productivity – contributing to Cera’s 96% staff satisfaction rate.
Boosting the economy
With 9.2 million UK adults currently economically inactive, last year Cera launched a cross-sector Coalition to get Britain Back to Work – creating thousands of digital healthcare jobs for the unemployed and economically inactive. Cera’s programme arms recruits with career-boosting tech and digital skills, as well as comprehensive practical and emotional support to make coming back to work easier. This scheme has already had a significant impact: since October 2024, 28% of new Cera recruits were previously unemployed, and more than 16% returned from longer periods of economic inactivity. In addition, more than twice the industry average live with a disability — representing Cera’s commitment to overcoming barriers to work.
Recognition
Cera has repeatedly ranked as the UK’s Number 1 HealthTech company (by organisations including BusinessCloud, Beauhurst, Startups.co.uk, & more). Named 2025’s Number 1 Healthcare AI Company by the Healthcare Technology Report, Cera has also won awards including a Newsweek AI Impact Award (Best Outcomes – Patient Care), the Tech for Good Prize at the UK Tech Awards, the prizes for Best Use of AI and Best Elderly Care Technology Solution at the Health Tech Digital Awards, and Health Investor’s Innovator of the Year Award. One of the only companies to rank in the top 10 of the Deloitte Fast 50 three years in a row, Cera also featured in the Sunday Times’ 2025inaugural 100 Tech league table of Britain’s fastest-growing tech businesses. Additionally, the company has been recognised for its investment in people, skills and development, featuring in the FT’s Best UK Employers Report 2025, and winning the 2025 Sunday Times Inclusion Champion Award.
Cera’s Founder and CEO Dr Ben Maruthappu (above) has also received widespread recognition, including being named the overall winner of EY’s UK Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2024, shortly after also being crowned the overall winner of the Great British Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2023 – the only entrepreneur to win both awards. In 2020, Ben was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours, for services to health and care technology — becoming the youngest doctor to receive an honour.
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