Alumni Profile: Dr Ben Maruthappu MBE
Ben Maruthappu (Clinical Medicine, 2009) joined Green Templeton College to study Clinical Medicine, where he developed an early passion for combining medicine with management and innovation. During his time at Oxford, he founded the UK Medical Students’ Association (UKMSA), providing educational resources and advocacy for medical students nationwide, and became the youngest doctor appointed to the Board of an NHS Trust. He also took part in the College’s Management in Medicine programme, which introduced him to the intersection of clinical care, leadership, and systems thinking – ideas that continue to shape his work today.
Further academic and career journey
After Oxford, Ben was awarded a Kennedy Scholarship to Harvard University, where he immersed himself in the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship – an experience he credits with sparking his determination to launch his own venture. Returning to the UK, he co-founded the NHS Innovation Accelerator, benefiting more than two million patients, and advised the CEO of NHS England on technology and innovation.
In 2016, Ben launched Cera, a digital-first home healthcare company that uses AI to predict and prevent health risks, helping people receive care at home rather than in hospital.
Under his leadership, Cera has become Europe’s largest and fastest-growing HealthTech, growing from $5 million to $500 million revenues over the past five years. Now a HealthTech Unicorn, valued at over $1 billion, Cera is the UK’s most valuable doctor-led business, the largest UK company run by an under-40-year-old, and has repeatedly ranked as the UK’s Number 1 HealthTech.
Each month, Cera delivers 2.5 million patient home visits, powered by its AI platform, equivalent in scale to all NHS A&Es combined. It has saved the NHS & Government over £1 billion, by reducing hospitalisations by up to 70% and shifting healthcare from hospital to home, while also reducing carbon emissions 15-fold. Cera has transformed staffing in the care sector, using AI to improve staff productivity, reduce administrative burdens, and accelerate recruitment. As a reflection of these efforts, Cera has attracted over 1 million carer and nurse applicants in the past two years alone, more than any other healthcare company in Europe. Cera is also creating thousands of jobs in care for the long-term unemployed: 28% of recent recruits to Cera were previously out of work, and double the industry average live with a disability.
Recognising Cera’s impact, the Rt Hon Ian Murray, UK Technology Minister at the Department of Science, Innovation & Technology, said: ‘This is a shining example of how AI can help people live happier for longer and more independently, while easing pressures on the NHS and delivering value for the taxpayer.’
Achievements
Ben became the youngest doctor to receive an honour, when in 2020 he was awarded an MBE for services to health and social care technology. He is also the only doctor to have won EY’s UK Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2024), and the only entrepreneur to have won both EY’s and Great British Entrepreneur of the Year (2023) titles.
In 2025, he was listed in the Sunday Times Rich List of the 40 Richest People Under 40, the first doctor ever to appear. He has also been recognised by TIME Magazine, Newsweek, The Economist, The Sunday Times, Financial Times, WIRED, 10 Downing Street, and Forbes 30 Under 30, for his innovation in healthcare, and continues to lead Cera’s expansion across the UK and Europe.
