Dubbed “HOSPITA/ITY vol.001”, the event, according to Superhealth, was somehow meant to “fix hospitals”, making them “approachable and non-scary”.
Published Aug 23, 2026 | 9:44 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 23, 2026 | 9:44 PM
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Synopsis: A Bengaluru healthcare startup hosted a music concert and the launch of an AI music startup at a hospital in the city on Saturday night. The event, according to Superhealth, was somehow meant to “fix hospitals”, making them “approachable and non-scary”. The stunt, however, has invited flak from medical professionals and netizens, with some left puzzled by the decision to host such an event in a hospital with patients, while others termed it “peak techbro arrogance” and demanded action.
A Bengaluru-based healthcare startup hosted a music concert at a hospital in the city on the night of Saturday, 22 August.
Dubbed “HOSPITA/ITY vol.001”, the event, according to Superhealth, was somehow meant to “fix hospitals”, making them “approachable and non-scary”.
“HOSPITA/ITY is our way of opening our spaces back to the community to let them experience hospitals as a place that is not scary, inviting and is maybe even joyful,” Superhealth Founder and CEO Varun Dubey was quoted as saying in a blurb sent to the media prior to the event.
Promotional material for the event shows the artists performing atop a medical bed, floating mid-air.
It was held on non-clinical floors of a hospital building after OPD hours when, according to the organisers, “the footfall is limited”. Alongside performances by artists Youth in Asia, E# and Sahil Godara, the event also saw the launch of an AI music startup. Promotional material for the event shows the artists performing atop a medical bed, floating mid-air.
we fear hospitals and forget most of us were born in one.
the first room you ever entered was a hospital room @superhealth X @localhosthq spending saturday night reminding bengaluru of that,
with live music in the corridors.
the hospital paradox we treat it as where things… pic.twitter.com/kjuhnapYBv
— gaurang.eth (@iamgaurangdesai) August 22, 2026
The marketing stunt, however, has not gone down well with actual medical professionals and netizens. One user, who identified themself as a doctor, called it “absolutely pathetic and cringe” and demanded action against the startup.
“Absolutely pathetic and cringe! Disgusted to know of a ‘Hospital Rave’ party in BLR in a hospital which has lost all its credibility in recent times! What next? Apollo and Medanta hosting such parties to ‘break barriers and build bridges’?” they wrote.
“If the authorities are keeping quiet after this was allowed in hospital premises, I don’t know what precedence we are setting for infection control inside our setups.”
In response to the backlash, Superhealth scrubbed all its original promotional posts from social media.
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‘Peak techbro arrogance’
Several social media users were left puzzled by the startup’s strategy in hosting the event, while others saw it as an example of the myopic way “techbros” view real-world problems.
Dr Divya Sharma termed the stunt “peak techbro arrogance”.
“Converting a medical facility to ‘rave’ is peak techbro arrogance and ignorance! Healthcare is heavily regulated for a reason – sterilization, ethics, privacy and patient trust matter. You can’t walk in with a tech playbook and treat health infrastructure like a marketing playbook!” she wrote.
Others took aim at the startup and its business model.
“I hope no one has the misfortune of going to a hospital for an emergency and be greeted with this. There are places where sanity was undisturbed for centuries and across geographies – there’s a reason for it. Growth hacking over bare minimum empathy is something only BLR can do,” one user wrote.
Another wrote: “Marketing is about understanding your audience, having empathy, and saying sorry when you falter instead of just rage baiting (which seems to be new marketing i cant get behind).”
Social media personality and tech entrepreneur Arnav Gupta pointed to a Reddit thread where users complained that the startup was “scammy”.
“Superhealth, the startup which organised the party in a hospital in Bangalore has a reddit full of people complaining about how scammy they are – they sell a unlimited consultation pass only for people to not find any consultation time slots at all. Why am I not surprised,” he wrote.
Superhealth, the startup which organised the party in a hospital in Bangalore has a reddit full of people complaining about how scammy they are – they sell a unlimited consultation pass only for people to not find any consultation time slots at all.
Why am I not surprised. pic.twitter.com/KBvwdnme1F
— Arnav Gupta (@championswimmer) August 23, 2026
Even a user who identified as a Superhealth patient demanded answers from the startup’s CEO.
“I have visited Superhealth thrice so far (including ER) and the experience is definitely better than others… The party thing was definitely a bad idea and I think harms the brand than doing any good. Best thing for [Founder] Varun Dubey is to explain asap or apologise. Healthcare in India is definitely broken and we need more people to solve it,” he wrote.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
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