How Neha K Motwani Is Building More Empathetic Fertility Care In india

A few years ago, Neha K. Motwani found herself navigating the complex, confusing, and emotionally taxing world of fertility care. What began as a deeply personal struggle soon revealed a larger systemic gap. Determined to change this experience, she founded Luma Fertility, a fertility clinic built on the belief that advanced medical science must be paired with compassion, transparency, and emotional support.

At the SheThePeople Digital Women Awards 2025, Neha was recognised in the Solopreneur category for her dedication towards making fertility care more accessible and transparent.

With Luma Fertility, Neha’s vision is not just to offer medical solutions but to empower individuals with confidence, comfort, and informed choice.

Neha K Motwani: Digital Women Awards 2025

What is the story behind Luma Fertility?

Luma fertility was born from a very personal place. After going through my own fertility struggles, I experienced firsthand how confusing, isolating, and emotionally draining the process can be.

What struck me most was how transactional fertility care often feels in India, where something so deeply human is treated purely as a medical procedure.

I knew there had to be a better way. That’s how Luma fertility came to life, a next-generation fertility clinic that blends advanced medical science with compassion, transparency, and empathy.

We’re reimagining what fertility care should feel like: human-centred, deeply supportive, and built around the individual, not just the treatment.

At Luma, every patient is seen, heard, and guided with clarity. From fertility assessments to advanced IVF, our goal is to make the journey less overwhelming and more empowering.

We want to give people not just medical solutions, but the confidence and comfort to make informed decisions about their bodies and futures.

Our mission is simple but radical: to put patients at the heart of fertility healthcare in India. Because fertility care isn’t just about helping someone conceive, it’s about helping them feel whole, supported, and in control of one of the most important journeys of their lives.

What Is Your Business Model?

At Luma, our business model is built around one simple belief that fertility care should be as human, transparent, and empowering as it is clinical.

We follow a full-stack, direct-to-consumer model, which means we manage every part of the fertility journey under one roof, from diagnosis and treatment to emotional and holistic support.

Our primary revenue comes from patients who choose services like IVF, egg and embryo freezing, and fertility assessments. But what truly differentiates us is the technology layer we’ve built around the clinical experience.

Through our companion app and AI-powered assistant, LumaAI, patients receive real-time updates, guidance, and emotional support throughout their journey, giving them the clarity and confidence that’s often missing in traditional fertility setups.

Our physical clinics, starting with our flagship space in Bandra, are designed very differently open, transparent, and equipped with in-house labs so patients can actually see their care in action. This not only builds trust but transforms how people experience fertility treatment.

Beyond medical procedures, we also integrate holistic wellness services from nutrition and acupuncture to IV therapy to help improve outcomes and emotional well-being.

Ultimately, Luma’s business model isn’t just about delivering fertility services; it’s about creating a seamless, tech-enabled, and deeply personal experience that helps individuals and couples feel informed, supported, and in control every step of the way.

What Kind Of Funding Did You Start With?

Luma fertility started its journey with a $4 million seed round, which we announced in July 2025. The round was led by Peak XV’s Surge, with incredible support from visionary investors like Ameera Shah of Metropolis Healthcare and Vijay Taparia of B2V Ventures.

This funding represents more than capital; it's a validation of our belief that fertility care in India can be reimagined to be more transparent, empathetic, and patient-first.

The investment will help us expand our network of full-stack clinics, starting with Mumbai and soon reaching Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, and Delhi over the next two years.

Our goal is to scale thoughtfully, ensuring that every new Luma clinic delivers the same standard of care, clarity, and compassion that defines us.

This milestone is just the beginning of a larger vision to make world-class, emotionally supportive fertility care accessible to people across India.

In what ways to technology/ digital contribute to your business?

At Luma, technology is not an add-on; it's the backbone that helps us make fertility care more transparent, personalised, and stress-free. 

When I went through my own fertility journey, I felt a constant lack of clarity and communication. That’s exactly what we’ve set out to change.

We’ve built a tech-enabled ecosystem that supports patients from the moment they walk in and long after they leave.

Our Luma App allows patients to track every step of their treatment, access reports in real time, and feel in control of their journey.

Alongside it, our AI-powered assistant, LumaAI, offers 24/7, jargon-free support for questions about medication, timelines, or next steps, bringing comfort and confidence when it’s needed most.

On the clinical side, our in-house lab uses precision embryology techniques like ICSI to improve success rates, while our open lab design allows patients to actually see parts of the process, reinforcing our promise of transparency.

We’ve also introduced tools like at-home semen analysis, an integrated pharmacy, and a cryo chamber within the clinic to make the experience seamless and efficient.

For us, technology isn’t just about efficiency; it's about empowerment. It helps bridge the information gap, reduce anxiety, and ensure every individual feels informed, supported, and seen throughout their fertility journey.

As an entrepreneur, how important has prioritising your health and emotional wellness been for you?

As entrepreneurs, we often pour everything we have into building our dreams, our time, energy and emotions. In that constant pursuit of growth and impact, it’s easy to forget that the greatest asset we have is ourselves. 

Entrepreneurship is exhilarating but also deeply demanding. There are long hours, constant uncertainty, and emotional highs and lows that can easily take a toll on one’s health and mental well-being.

Ignoring that doesn’t just affect us personally; it eventually impacts our clarity, creativity, and ability to lead. Prioritising mental and physical well-being isn’t indulgent, it's essential. 

For me, that means setting boundaries, making time for fitness and mindfulness, and surrounding myself with a support system I can lean on.

These practices help me show up as a stronger, more grounded version of myself for my team, my business and my purpose.

As founders, we often talk about building sustainable businesses, but sustainability starts with us. Taking care of our minds and bodies allows us to build not just successful ventures, but meaningful, lasting ones.

What Were Some Key Challenges You Faced While Building Your Business?

Building Luma Fertility has been a journey filled with both immense learning and meaningful challenges. One of the first hurdles was navigating founder bias.

As a woman leading a healthcare startup in a male-dominated investor ecosystem, I often faced dismissive or intrusive questions during fundraising. It required resilience and clarity to stay focused on our vision.

Fertility is deeply personal, and building a business in this space while navigating my own journey meant managing emotional highs and lows alongside the demands of scaling a startup.

Another challenge was educating the market. Infertility is still stigmatised in India, and conversations around it, especially male infertility, remain sensitive.

Helping people make informed, empowered decisions meant going beyond traditional marketing and creating awareness with empathy.

Finally, building a skilled, aligned team was key. We needed experts in both clinical fertility care and technology, which isn’t easy to find.

Scaling Luma required balancing these capabilities while ensuring our culture of patient-first care remained intact. Each challenge taught me the importance of patience, persistence, and the value of building a mission-driven, empathetic business.

We approached this challenge as an opportunity to educate and empower people. At Luma, we organised complimentary fertility tests at corporate offices and offered consultations with gynaecologists, helping individuals understand their reproductive health in a safe, non-judgmental environment. 

By making these conversations accessible and normalised, we could break societal stigma, encourage proactive decision-making, and ensure people felt supported every step of the way.

For us, it’s not just about treatments, it’s about creating awareness, providing clarity, and helping people make informed choices about their fertility journey.

What are your plans and future growth opportunities for the business?

Fertility care in India is at an inflexion point. For too long, it has been clinical, opaque and emotionally exhausting. With awareness rising and conversations around reproductive health becoming more open, there’s an incredible opportunity to reimagine how people experience this journey.

At Luma, we want to lead that change. We’re building a new kind of fertility ecosystem, one that combines cutting-edge science and AI-driven insights with empathy, transparency, and patient-centred design.

Our vision is to make fertility care in India as informed, accessible, and emotionally supportive as it deserves to be.

With the support of our recent $4 million seed funding, led by Peak XV’s Surge platform and backed by inspiring leaders like Ameera Shah and Vijay Taparia, we’re ready to scale this vision.

Our flagship clinic in Bandra is just the beginning. We plan to expand across India, bringing world-class fertility care closer to more individuals and couples who need it.

The fertility market is growing rapidly globally and in India but what’s missing is trust, empathy, and clarity. That’s where Luma steps in.

Our opportunity lies not just in offering treatments, but in reshaping mindsets making fertility care feel empowering, inclusive, and stigma-free.

The future for Luma is about impact: helping people feel seen, supported, and in control of their fertility choices, while transforming what fertility care looks and feels like in India.

The Global fertility market size is USD 42.23 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 70.27 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 7.50% from 2024 to 2030.

The fertility category in India represents a 30 million+ market, yet access to informed care remains limited.

Owing to the need for patient-centric fertility and the growing need for egg freezing and its potential in India, Luma aims to build a high-potential market and create a strong impact. We plan to have 30 clinics in 7 years and be at a revenue of 1,000 crores.