Healthtech startup Medd raises $150K funding for expanding operations and technology base
Medd has raised a round of funding of USD 1,50,000 from four angel investors. The company had raised its first round of investment from Ajeet Khurana in May. Arpit Kothari, Co-founder of Medd, says that with this round, the team is looking to expand its base from Mumbai and Indore to Delhi NCR, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
While the first round of funding was used for product development, this round will be utilised to strengthen technology, data sciences and operations. Akash Deep Singhal, Co-founder and CTO, says the company went app-only like many startups but after seeing strong demand from desktop, they will be investing in web technologies heavily in the coming three to six months.
The beginnings
Medd was started by IIT-Bombay dropouts Arpit, Akash and Anurag Mundhada in May, 2015. It equips patients not only with information on certified diagnostic labs but also provides options for choosing and comparing rates. Arpit adds that in the absence of a strict watchdog from the government, clinics and hospitals lure patients in India into getting irrelevant diagnostic tests.
Workings of the app
With the help of this app, people can compare and choose from the best and accredited labs and hospitals around them, at discounts of upto 70 per cent on preventive health check-ups, and can safely access their reports from their mobile phones. Future plans include offering discounts on online purchase of medicines as well.
Anurag says that they are using the available resources to make healthcare delivery more efficient and provide more consistent healthcare outcomes at affordable prices.
Also Read: Despite $3.37B from foreign funds, health sector in India is under invested
Solving a problem
In 2015, Medd was also presented at the prestigious World Congress on Public Health. It demonstrated 80 per cent reduction in cost for a patient using their services.
Arpit says, "There is an option of going to the lab/hospital and getting yourself tested. Where possible, they also have the option of getting the sample collected from home/office and report delivered to the patient via email, app and a physical copy through courier".
To solve the problem of misdiagnosis, the team is getting people on their platform to use only accredited labs that maintain highest standards of quality and undergo rigorous third-party checks.
“After an article that was published on YourStory, multiple people used our services and approached us to help in the cause and put in money in the venture or join us full time” says Arpit. The team currently is 12-people strong and is hiring for various roles.
Yourstory take
Expected to touch USD 79 billion in 2012, the healthcare sector is now expected to reach USD 160 billion by 2017, and USD 280 billion by 2020. Today, it is considered one of the largest sectors in India, in terms of both revenue and employment.
Last year, close to 7,500 startups across the globe were looking to develop digital solutions in the healthcare space. While several startups in India are working towards bringing medical practitioners and consumers closer using technology, there seems to be a problem at the supply end.
The paid healthcare apps market is believed to be growing at close to 33.8 per cent CAGR. In the Asian market, Japan and India are believed to be the emerging and most promising countries for healthcare apps. For many healthcare app organisations, creating these apps means bringing technology to an otherwise troubled system; reports have suggested that India has only 0.6 doctors per 1000 people.
