These 8 healthtech startups raised funding amid coronavirus to provide healthcare services
An estimated 4,800 healthtech startups are leveraging cutting-edge technologies to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. Here are a few who managed to grab investor attention despite the bleak scenario.
A few days back, India overtook Italy as the sixth wors- hit nation by the coronavirus pandemic, recording over 2.69 lakh positive cases.
With social distancing and lockdown rules in place, services provided by several healthtech platforms have allowed people to avail online consultations, treatments, diagnostic tests, and have medicines delivered at their doorstep.
Moreover, the government of India has been leveraging the potential of digital healthcare, introducing the Aarogya Setu app for Indians to self-assess themselves for the deadly virus, and determine if they are in a risk zone.
In fact, an estimated 4,800 healthtech startups are leveraging cutting-edge technologies to help fight the pandemic in India.
Even during such bleak times, a few of these startups have managed to grab investors' eyes to raise funding, in order to operate smoothly. YourStory lists a few.
HealthPlix
Bengaluru-based healthtech startup recently raised $6 million in a round led by JSW Ventures. Existing investors Chiratae Ventures and Kalaari Capital also participated in the round.
Founded in 2016 by Raghuraj Sunder Raju, Prasad Basavaraj, and Sandeep Gudibanda, HealthPlix provides clinical software for doctors.It has developed an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) software, and provides Clinical Decision Support (CDS) to doctors and helps them generate e-prescriptions under 30 seconds.
The Co-Founders of Healthplix: Prasad Basavraj, Sandeep Gudibanda, and Raghuraj Sunder Raju.
Since its inception, the healthtech startup has raised a total of $10 million in funding.
IVF Access
IVF Access, a Bengaluru-based healthcare startup focused on providing In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatments in India, raised $5 million in Series A funding in June.
The funds raised will be deployed to set up IVF clinics across India that provide assisted reproductive treatments, with its operations enabled by a proprietary IT platform, the startup said in a statement.
Naresh Rao, Co-founder and CEO, , said,
“When it comes to IVF, access is everything. IVF Access will increase the reach of such fertility treatments through a chain of clinics in India, where couples trying to conceive will have access to both technology and medical expertise.”
IVF Access Founders (L-R): Pravin Kumar Sethuraman, Harinath Chakravarthy, Naresh Rao, and Nikhil Rajmohan
The investment was made by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, and will see its Managing Partner Ben Mathias joining the board of the startup.
Phable
In May, healthtech startup Phable raised $1 million in its ongoing pre-Series A round from Inflection Point Ventures and other investors.
The startup intends to use the funds to quickly expand in the country, and scale its technology.
Phable founder Sumit Sinha
Co-founded by Sumit Sinha and Mukesh Bansal in 2018, operates by creating an ecosystem of patients, doctors, hospitals, health devices, insurance, and patient-care service providers.
Remedo
, a Delhi-based healthtech startup in the telemedicine vertical, raised an undisclosed amount in its pre-Series A round in May from River Rock Ventures.
Inflection Point Ventures also participated in the round with other investors, including AngelList, Mohit Satyanand, Mitesh Daga (TPG Capital), and Aditya Vij (Kedara capital).
The startup, which runs a telemedicine platform connecting over a lakh patients with doctors on its platform, said it will be using the funds to expand to other specialities like cardiovascular, neuro, and respirators.
Remedo, co-founded by Dr Ruchir Mehra, Harsh Bansal, and Richeek Arya in 2017, connects doctors with patients, offering customised care plans, including consultation, follow-up visit reminders, tests, medicine reminders, and detailed answers to patient FAQs.
MediBuddy DocsApp
This month, Bengaluru-based online doctor consultation startup DocsApp announced a merger with , a digital consumer health business for enterprises.
Combining their respective strengths, the joint entity, named ‘MediBuddy DocsApp,’ will continue to focus on enabling healthcare services like online specialist doctor consultations, lab tests, preventive health checks, delivery of medicines, etc., to customers across India.
Satish Kannan, CEO of the merged entity
The joint entity raised $20 million (Rs 150 crore) in Series B round of funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners, Fusian Capital, Mitsui Sumitomo, and Beyond Next Ventures. Existing investors, including Milliways Ventures and Rebright Partners, also participated in this round.
The joint entity said it would utilise the funding in further strengthening its doctor base, patient reach, product, and technology to move a step closer to its mission of providing high-quality healthcare to a billion people.
Doceree
New Jersey-based , Inc. in May raised $1 million in seed funding from a group of angel investors from India and the US. The healthtech startup secured the funds despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis that is wreaking havoc on stocks worldwide.
The startup plans to utilise the funds towards customer acquisition, recruiting talent, scaling up operations in India and the US, and ramping up technology to further digitalise the physician engagement experience.
![[Funding alert] Physician engagement startup Doceree raises a seed funding of $1M](https://images.yourstory.com/cs/2/730b50702d6c11e9aa979329348d4c3e/Image4spp-1589300604241.jpg?fm=png&auto=format&h=100&w=100&crop=entropy&fit=crop)
The seed funding round was led by Kumar Gaurav, Founder and CEO of . A few other investors from the advertising and the pharmaceutical industry also participated. The startup has also inducted serial investor Rahul Gupta to its management board.
Esperer Onco Nutrition
In April, healthtech startup Esperer Onco Nutrition (EON) raised funds from strategic investment and venture builder firm Zenfold Ventures. EON brings in a comprehensive nutritional portfolio to oncology.
With the freshly raised funds, EON plans to expand to the US and European markets, and build a world-class talent pool. The startup has already expanded its team of experts in scientific and R&D departments, and plans to add key people in finance, marketing, and supply chain teams.
EON is focused on addressing specific health conditions with special emphasis on onco nutrition, and intends to provide a 360-degree solution to the global cancer portfolio.
Zealthy
Bengaluru-based women's healthcare startup in March raised an undisclosed seed funding led by KYT Ventures, First Cheque, AngelList, and few prominent angel investors.
The startup plans to use the funding to further develop its product and tech, and add more Indian languages onto its platform. It is also looking to expand its base further in Tier II and III cities in India.
Anu Gupta, Co-founder of KYT Ventures, said, “Being a doctor and a woman, I could see how Zealthy’s women centricity, Tier II and III focus, and vernacular strategy have the potential to lead the next phase of digital health in India.”
The Zealthy Team
Started in 2019 by Rishi Malhotra and Akhil Gupta, Zealthy is a women-only platform that aims to understand, share, and learn health issues specific to women in their local languages. It connects users to reliable healthcare providers for specialties like maternity, infertility, cosmetic interventions, etc., at affordable prices.
Edited by Suman Singh
