ACKO Acquires Digital Health Platform Parentlane To Expand Beyond Core Insurance Offerings

Bengaluru-based insurtech unicorn ACKO on Friday (March 17) said it has acquired digital health platform Parentlane. However, it didn’t disclose the acquisition cost. 

Parentlane’s personalised guidance and advice on maternity and child health, combined with ACKO’s core insurance offering, will enable better healthcare choices, informed decisions, and improved outcomes for millennial parents, the startup said in a statement.

The deal would help ACKO in building a digital healthcare ecosystem focused on solving core problems in healthcare access for customers, it added.

“Parentlane has built a successful engagement-led technology platform for maternal health, which we believe will play a significant role in helping us provide comprehensive healthcare service to our customers and expand beyond the core insurance offerings by partnering with the healthcare ecosystem,” said Varun Dua, founder of ACKO.

Founded in December 2015 by Vijay Anand and Neeraj Kumar Gupta, Parentlane provides young millennial parents with healthcare solutions from preconception to early childhood development phase. It has also partnered with leading hospitals across the country to deliver healthcare services. 

Parentlane currently claims to serve over 2 Mn users yearly on the platform with personalised content. It has built a repository of over 10,000 content pieces in multiple formats.

Explaining how the deal aligns with the visions of both the startups, Parentlane cofounder and CEO Anand said that insurance brings significant value to customers and it can potentially become the primary gateway for consumers to access healthcare services and improve their health outcomes. 

Following the deal, Anand will join the ACKO leadership team and spearhead strategic initiatives for the company.

ACKO, founded in 2016 by Dua and Ruchi Deepak, is a digital insurance policy provider. In October 2021, the startup entered the unicorn club after raising $255 Mn in Series D funding round, which was co-led by General Atlantic and Multiples Private Equity. ACKO is also backed by marquee names like Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Lightspeed, Amazon, Elevation Capital, and Binny Bansal. 

In November last year, ACKO invested in community and security management startup MyGate in its $12.2 Mn funding round. 

Meanwhile, the insurtech startup’s net loss widened 3X to INR 382.3 Cr in FY22 from INR 132.5 Cr in FY21 due to a rise in its expenses. Its revenue rose 129% year-on-year to INR 1,087.5 Cr in FY22.

As per a recent report, ACKO is looking to raise around $150 Mn from new and existing investors.

According to an Inc42 report, India’s insurtech and lendingtech markets are expected to lead the fintech ecosystem in the coming years, with the insurtech market projected to reach a size of $339 Bn by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 57% between 2021 and 2025.

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