Digital Healthcare Platform MediBuddy Raises $40 Mn In Series B Funding The platform will utilize the funding in further strengthening its doctor and hospital base, patient reach, product, technology, and brand to move a step closer to its mission of providing high-quality healthcare to a billion people
By Prabhjeet Bhatla •
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Bengaluru-based digital healthcare platform MediBuddy on Tuesday announced to have raised $40 million funding in Series B round. This follows the recent infusion of $20 million led by India Life Sciences Fund III, LLC, with participation from other investors. The digital healthcare platform had earlier announced initial funding of $20 million in June 2020 under this round.
The digital healthcare platform will utilize the funding in further strengthening its doctor and hospital base, patient reach, product, technology, and brand to move a step closer to its mission of providing high-quality healthcare to a billion people.
"At MediBuddy, we strive towards making high-quality healthcare accessible to Indians across the length and breadth of the country. On any given day, we provide consultations to more patients than any leading offline hospital chain. Moreover, we are proud of the fact that over 50 per cent of these users are from non-urban areas," said Satish Kannan, co-founder, and chief executive officer, MediBuddy.
COVID-19 has created an unprecedented acceleration in digital healthcare adoption and the platform has been said to be at the forefront of this transformation.
"The potential of the MediBuddy platform has generated significant investor interest in the Series B round despite the uncertainty prevalent worldwide, helping it secure the highest funding in the digital healthcare space since the start of the pandemic. The Series B round attracted new investments from India Life Sciences Fund III, LLC, TEAMFund LP, JAFCO Asia Fund, FinSight Ventures, ALES Global Japan, and Beyond Next Ventures. Existing investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, Milliways Ventures and Rebright Partners also participated in this round," Kannan added.
With diverse offerings for all stakeholders of the healthcare industry through a "phygital' approach, the company claims to discover, access, utilize, and monitor healthcare seamless, real-time, and virtually paperless, encapsulating user experience right from discovery to service delivery.
"We are fortunate to have been a part of Satish's and Enba's journey from the very early days. We continue to be strong supporters as they execute towards their aim of enabling more Indians to have access to high-quality healthcare," stated Vishal Gupta, managing director, Bessemer Venture Partners India.
To date, over three crore Indians have used the mobile and web platforms to access specialist doctors 24x7 on video, order medicines, and book home collection of lab samples. In addition, several Fortune 500 companies in India have trusted MediBuddy as their preferred digital healthcare partner to help their employees access various healthcare benefits, the statement said.
"Telemedicine in India is growing at a monumental pace and the pandemic has only further amplified the importance of going digital. MediBuddy is by far the leader in the digital healthcare space in terms of scale, size and customers served; and we are excited to partner with MediBuddy in this growth journey to make high-quality healthcare accessible to a billion Indians," shared Vikul Goyal, venture partner, FinSight Ventures.
With a partner network of over 90,000 doctors, 7000 hospitals, 3000 diagnostic centres and 2500 pharmacies covering 23,000 pin-codes in India, and a 1000-member team located across 22 Indian cities, the platform maintains that it has catered to the healthcare needs of three crore Indians and attends to the needs of over 35,000 Indians daily across the length and breadth of the country.
"The Fund is excited about partnering with MediBuddy and its dynamic leadership team with Satish and Enba at the helm. MediBuddy's e-health platform enables customers to access the entire gamut of healthcare services, be it teleconsultation services, lab tests, or medicines, across devices. The Fund is particularly heartened by MediBuddy's efforts at enabling such access in vernacular languages, which will be the key to meeting its mission of serving customers across the length and breadth of the country. Its marquee customer base, consisting of the India operations of several Fortune 500 companies, and many leading insurance companies, is testimony to the quality of services provided. The Fund's representatives look forward to working with MediBuddy and supporting it in its endeavor to emerge as India's preferred digital healthcare platform," explained Devarajan TP, managing director, and representative of India Life Sciences Fund III, LLC, on the Board.
The app connects patients to experienced and verified doctors for online consultations across 18 specialties such as cardiology, neurology, dermatology, pediatrics, gynecologists, psychiatry, orthopedics, general medicine, among others, instantly via chat, video, or voice call.
"The telemedicine market in India is a very large growth opportunity and MediBuddy is in a very strong position in this market. They have the most comprehensive platform to address the market needs. JAFCO Asia has been one of the key investors in Teladoc in the US which is right now at $38 billion in market cap. JAFCO Asia is very proud to be a partner to Satish and Enba in the growth journey for MediBuddy," said Supriya Singh, director, JAFCO Asia Fund.
MediBuddy users can also order medicines and book a lab test through the platform from the comfort of their homes. One can save up to 60% through the app when consulting with leading doctors on the platform. The doctors on the app provide consultations in many Indian languages.
"TEAMFund is very excited to partner with the team at MediBuddy, and is looking forward to helping build out their chronic disease management capabilities for remote patients. MediBuddy has built a first-class, frictionless platform that integrates telehealth with essential lab and pharmaceutical services that we believe is amongst the best in the world. This is extremely valuable for patients across the country, and especially for those in rural and low resource areas who benefit from increased efficiency, lower cost, and increased access to specialized services," added Yousuf Mazhar, Managing Partner, TEAMFund LP.
In June 2020, to create market leadership in the digital healthcare industry, the online doctor consultation platform DocsApp merged with the company.
The venture has so far raised over $50 million from India Life Sciences Fund III, LLC, Bessemer Venture Partners, Rebright Partners, TechMatrix Corporation, DeNA networks, Milliways Fund LLC, Mitsui Sumitomo (MSIVC), TEAMFund LP, JAFCO Asia Fund, FinSight Ventures, ALES Global Japan, Beyond Next Ventures, Makita corporation and Facebook's angel investors, Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan.
