'Impressed': Tech entrepreneurs praise Blinkit for its 10-minute ambulance service
What's the story
Blinkit, known for its lightning-fast grocery delivery services, has now entered the healthcare space by introducing a 10-minute ambulance service in Gurugram. The company's CEO, Albinder Dhindsa, announced the move on social media platform X. He said this is their first step toward solving the problem of timely and reliable ambulance services in cities. The move has garnered praise from prominent tech entrepreneurs, including Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Nothing founder and CEO Carl Pei.
Growth strategy
Blinkit's ambulance fleet and expansion plans
Blinkit has launched its new service with a fleet of five ambulances in Gurugram. Dhindsa revealed that as the service expands to more regions, users will see an option to book a Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance through the Blinkit app. The company plans to expand this innovative healthcare solution to other cities as well.
Service details
Blinkit's ambulances are equipped with essential medical tools
The newly launched Blinkit ambulances will be fully equipped with necessary medical equipment, including oxygen cylinders, Automated External Defibrillator, stretcher, monitor, suction machine, and emergency medicines and injections. Each ambulance will also have a paramedic, an assistant, and a trained driver on board to provide service. "Congratulations Albi! Very well thought-out use case. Expecting it to become fully commercially successful and solve the ambulance issue in many more cities," Paytm chief wrote on X.
Twitter Post
Take a look at Pei's response to Dhindsa's post
Insanely great. Impressed!
— Carl Pei (@getpeid) January 2, 2025
Pricing strategy
Blinkit's ambulance service aims to be affordable
Dhindsa stressed that the "10-minute" ambulance service isn't profit-oriented but intends to offer an affordable solution to a pressing problem. He said, "Profit is not a goal here. We will operate this service at an affordable cost for customers and invest in really solving this critical problem for the long term." However, some X users raised concerns over possible 'surge pricing' during high-demand hours, something we have seen for grocery delivery orders.
Future prospects
Blinkit's expansion plans for ambulance service
Blinkit intends to expand its ambulance service to all major cities over the next two years. The move into emergency medical services is a first for the company, setting it apart from quick commerce competitors like Swiggy's Instamart and Zepto. Earlier this week, Dhindsa also announced a large order fleet of all-electric vehicles for handling large electronics and party orders, currently active in Delhi and Gurugram.
Twitter Post
Great business case, said another X user
Great business case.
— The Hawk Eye (@thehawkeyex) January 2, 2025
- other ambulances services and hospitals ambulances can also be aggregated on the same app
- user can have option of selecting nearby ambulances with specific medi-equipment installed in it
- aggregation tie-ups will provide more choices to user, a…