Shashank ND studied information technology at NIT Karnataka, Surathkal, where he met Abhinav Lal. In 2008 his father needed knee surgery and the family wanted a second opinion abroad. The medical records existed only on paper.
The two batchmates gave up campus placements and started Practo from his father's house in Bangalore. In 2009 they launched Practo Ray clinic software and sold it door to door, because few doctors believed they would pay for it.
The consumer marketplace followed in 2012. Peak XV, then Sequoia India, led a Series A of about 4 million dollars that year. Tencent led a 90 million dollar round in 2015 and a 55 million dollar round in 2017. AIA Group put in 32 million dollars in 2020.
Practo posted its first full year of operating profit in FY25, with a 15 crore rupee EBITDA on 234 crore rupees of revenue. In 2025 Jagnoor Singh became CEO and Shashank moved to executive chairman. The company is preparing for an IPO.