Mr. Shobhit Agarwal, CEO of Nova IVF Fertility

Nova IVF Fertility is one of India’s leading and fastest-expanding IVF networks, with more than 120 centres across 68+ cities. Nova IVF Fertility cares for a highly diverse group of couples, many of whom travel long distances and save for years to start treatment. In 2025, Nova became one of Kai Health’s first international partners for Vita Embryo, working with us to see how AI can support more consistent and transparent embryo decisions at scale.

1. Could you briefly introduce yourself and Nova IVF Fertility?

I am Shobhit Agarwal, CEO of Nova IVF Fertility, one of India’s fastest growing and most trusted fertility chains. Before joining Nova, I served as Group CFO and Head of Business Development at Asia Healthcare Holdings (AHH), where I helped scale several healthcare verticals, including launching the fertility business at Motherhood. My career spans over 30 years across healthcare, IT, finance, and corporate leadership, with senior roles as CEO at Manipal Integrated Services and more than a decade at Infosys.

Nova IVF Fertility (NIF) is India’s leading and fastest-expanding IVF network and part of AHH—the country’s only platform focused entirely on single-speciality healthcare. With a strong foundation of trust, transparency, and clinical excellence, Nova has enabled over 97,000 clinical pregnancies through advanced reproductive technologies.

Today, we operate 120+ centres across 68+ cities, making world-class fertility care accessible to couples nationwide. Our internationally trained embryologists and IVF specialists follow global best practices, offering the full spectrum of fertility treatments in a personalised and outcome-driven manner.

2. From your perspective, what are the biggest challenges for patients starting fertility treatment in India today?

The first challenge is trust. Many couples struggle to identify the right clinic and worry about transparency, gamete handling, and credibility. Pricing is another major stress point, the unpredictability of costs often overshadows the science.

Social stigma also plays a significant role. In Tier-2 cities, male infertility remains a taboo topic. Even in metros, couples hesitate to discuss fertility openly and take treatment at the right time, leading to delayed diagnosis. There’s also emotional uncertainty, which makes psychological counselling essential.

Solving these challenges demands transparent communication, ethical practices, and greater awareness so couples feel supported right from the start.

3. How are embryo assessment and selection carried out at Nova, and what did you want to improve?

Our IVF labs are engineered to replicate the conditions of a womb be it precise temperature, humidity, air quality, and light to support early embryo development.

Traditionally, embryo selection is done manually through morphology-based grading. While effective, it can involve a degree of subjectivity because subtle indicators are sometimes difficult to measure. It is also time intensive.

This is where AI tools like Vita Embryo add value. AI can reduce variability, brings greater precision, assists in ranking embryos, and supports faster, more confident decision-making. It also enables more ethical practices by reducing the need for multiple embryo transfers.

4. What made you explore AI-based embryo assessment with Vita Embryo?

Improving success rates has always been central to Nova’s mission. AI-based embryo assessment strengthens this mission by adding consistency, objectivity, and deeper insights to traditional evaluation.

Vita Embryo enhances clinicians’ ability to predict embryo viability, supporting more informed decisions and healthier pregnancy outcomes. For us, adopting AI is about staying ahead of evidence-based innovation and ensuring that every couple benefits from the most advanced and ethical care available.

5. How are you using Vita Embryo today, and what changes have you observed?

We have rolled out Vita Embryo in almost all clinics, including Tier-2 cities.

While long-term data will take time, we have already seen:

• Quicker decision-making during embryo selection

• Improved workflow efficiency

• Greater patient confidence, as AI-backed reports offer transparency and reassurance

The technology has been very well received across our clinical teams.

6. How do you explain the role of AI to your teams and to patients?

All our embryologists undergo structured training at NACET – Nova Academy of Clinical Embryology Training, where they learn our protocols and how to interpret AI-based reports. Nova follows European embryology standards, and we integrate new technologies only after ensuring they complement our SOPs and do not disrupt clinical outcomes.

AI adoption was seamless because clinicians understand that the technology serves as a double-checker—an additional layer of validation that enhances, not replaces, the embryologists’ expertise. Pilot testing across selects labs and guidance from our Head of Embryology, Dr. Sujatha Ramakrishnan, ensured smooth integration.

With patients, we provide clear counselling. We explain that IVF success depends on multiple factors such as age, gamete quality, clinician expertise, lab conditions and the embryo selected. AI gives patients reassurance that the embryo chosen is supported by both clinical expertise and objective, data-driven analysis.

7. Looking ahead, how do you see AI evolving in fertility care, and what would you like Kai Health to focus on?

The future of IVF is moving strongly towards single embryo transfer, which requires extremely accurate embryo selection. AI will act as a powerful precision tool, helping clinicians choose the single best embryo and reducing risks associated with multiple pregnancies.

AI is also set to drive a new era of personalised fertility care, predicting ovarian response, standardising lab performance, enhancing counselling, and making decision-making more consistent and data driven. In a diverse country like India, AI has the potential to standardise fertility outcomes nationwide.

Going forward, we would like partners like Kai Health to integrate multiple data layers be it embryo imaging, patient history, hormonal profiles, genetics, and lab metrics to create holistic predictive models. Innovations in lab automation, quality control, and patient communication tools would add tremendous value.

Ultimately, we look toward AI systems that are clinically validated, transparent, and seamlessly embedded into everyday workflows, empowering clinicians and improving outcomes for every couple.