Twitter co-founder Biz Stone backs Indian healthcare startup Visit
Visit app matches patient symptoms with the medical guidance required. It has a pool of over 2,000 doctors and wants to add a million users in 2018.
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone has invested in Visit, a homegrown healthcare startup. Delhi-based Visit operates an on-demand platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help patients choose the right doctors and consultants.
Biz announced that he is backing the startup in his personal capacity. The funding amount is undisclosed though. The round also saw participation from Snapdeal co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, BlueJeans Network co-founder Alagu Periyannan, and former Qualcomm Ventures executive Karthee Madasamy.
Visit was founded in 2016 by BITS Pilani alumni Anurag Prasad, Vaibhav Singh, Shashvat Tripathi and Chetan Anand. It is an AI-powered health advisor that matches a patient’s symptoms to the medical specialist required.
Users have to describe their symptoms to a chatbot, which then checks for patient history, risk factors etc., using AI and machine learning algorithms. It then connects the patient to a relevant medical specialist, and a consultation can be availed over chat, phone or video.
Biz blogged about his motivation to back Visit. He wrote,
“Visit facilitates a symbiotic relationship between AI and doctors, making a hugely positive impact on patients... Visit’s AI will learn from the interactions between patients and healthcare professionals and get good on its own diagnosing common ailments. Investing in Visit is my small way of contributing to a future where AI is seen as a positive enhancement of humanity that really does improve lives.”
Visit claims that it is India’s first AI-integrated health app, and has a pool of over 2,000 practising doctors and medical coaches. The app also allows users to track their personal health and fitness stats including calories consumed, sleep and activity hours, blood pressure and sugar levels, and more.
It will utilise the funds to not only bolster its AI-driven diagnosis but also expand its service in international markets. The startup is also in the process of developing a telemedicine app that it claims will democratise healthcare.
Co-founder Anurag Prasad wrote in a blog,
“Over the past year we have been fortunate to get a lot of user love. Visit has received over 200,000 chat conversations and handles about 1,500 daily chat queries ranging from general health, medicines, skin problems, diet/nutrition and gynaecology. The average user conversation on Visit lasts 8.5 minutes.”
Visit aims to reach a million more users in 2018 and become the go-to app for quality health advice. At present, corporate clients are driving its revenues. “Some of India’s top employers and health insurances — Times Group, Rolls Royce, HDFC AMC, Wipro CCLG, Religare Health Insurance work with Visit to make the platform available to their employees and subscribers as a health benefit,” Anurag added.
Website: Visit