[Funding alert] Employee Wellness startup Nova Benefits secures $10M in Series A round

Nova Benefits, an employee wellness platform in India focusing on corporate health insurance, Thursday said it raised a Series A round of $10 million led by Susquehanna International Group (SIG) and Bessemer Venture Partners. Existing investors Multiply Ventures, Better Capital, and Titan Capital also participated in this round.

The startup's latest round comes six months after it raised $1 million from its existing investors.

Founded in 2020, Nova's tech platform helps companies improve employee wellbeing through health insurance, daily fitness, mental health counselling, and wellness programmes.

The startup plans to use the funding to expand its engineering, product management, sales, and customer success teams to build a larger stack of wellness offerings on its platform.

Co-founder and CTO Yash Gupta said, "We are not only improving employee and HR experience for insurance but also building a platform for a suite of benefits, including physical, mental, and financial health."

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Nova has a direct insurance broking license from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), which allows it to provide businesses with the best combination of insurers and coverages.

The Bengaluru-based startup claims to have seen a surge in clients amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, witnessing over 10X growth in one year. Since its inception, the startup has onboarded over 150 clients, including companies like Dream 11, CoinDCX, Snapdeal, Zenoti, and Yulu Bikes, with over 100,000 users on the platform.

Commenting on the announcement, Saransh Garg, Co-founder and CEO, Nova Benefits, said, 

“Historically, employee health insurance and wellness have just been a checkbox item for corporations. The pandemic has changed that. Nova's platform empowers progressive employers to provide personalised care for their team members, which ultimately drives employee happiness and retention."

"We're excited to be on a path to improve the well-being of 10 million Indians by 2025," he added.

Anant Vidur Puri, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, said, “We believe employee wellness is a nascent, under-penetrated but rapidly growing and evolving industry in India, and technology will play a critical role in accelerating this growth. We are excited to partner with Nova as it addresses key problems in the industry with its unique software-led approach, thereby providing a 10X better experience to employers and employees alike while enabling a more holistic benefits suite for employers in India.“