SUMMARY
The startup will use the funding to establish an additional 85 eClinics in the next 12 months
The investment will also be deployed to shore up hiring, expand footprint and scale up its tech stack
The startup currently operates 15 eClinics in Odisha and claims to have helped more than 10,000 patients under its pilot run
Odisha-based healthtech startup CureBay has raised INR 50 Cr ($6.1 Mn) in its Series A funding round led by Elevar Equity.
The startup will use the funding to establish an additional 85 eClinics in the next 12 months. The investment will also be deployed to shore up hiring and expand footprint to other locations. Besides, the cash infusion will also be used to scale up the tech stack and care delivery model.
“We want to thank Elevar Equity for its trust in our mission to provide the Right to Health for every citizen even in the remotest locations of India. The capital will enable the next phase of expansion and help reinforce our position in the country,” said chief executive officer (CEO) and cofounder Priyadarshi Mohapatra.
Echoing the sentiment, Elevar Equity’s managing partner Jyotsna Krishnan said, “CureBay’s blended distribution model with assisted tech is well-positioned to address a massive gap – millions of customers are eager to pay for quality healthcare in medically underserved areas….We are excited to partner with them and contribute our experience in scaling organisations.”
Founded in 2021 by Priyadarshi Mohapatra, Shobhan Mahapatra, and Sanjay Swain, CureBay operates a chain of eClinics that make healthcare accessible to people in small towns and villages.
“The first part is that we have built a robust tech platform which is built on the principle care continuum where we aggregate the physical healthcare system. So we get doctors, hospitals, labs, pharmacies and such services. Then, we ensure that these services are extended to people in remote areas by opening a location of satellite centres called eClinics,” said Priyadarshi Mohapatra.
At these eClinics, CureBay connects patients to doctors through teleconsultation. Subsequently, the startup then also claims to pick up the prescription to offer diagnostic tests and medicines to the patients.
Speaking to Inc42, Priyadarshi said that every eClinic is manned by two personnel. He further added that the platform operates on a hybrid model that has provisions to schedule appointments, provide teleconsultations, deliver medicine, and even provide concierge services.
On Inc42’s questions about the high capital expenditure demand of the project, Priyadarshi Mohapatra said that the centres have been designed in a way that they are ‘extremely asset light.’
Chiming in, Krishnan added, “The crux lies in ensuring that you get your business model right on – pricing, distribution, cost structures. If you build that foundation well, these aren’t super Capex-heavy models. They are relatively smartly constructed Capex models, but the Capex isn’t the biggest load. In fact, Capex is easier to solve through multiple sources of financing.”
Focus On Scaling Up, Revenues
The healthtech startup partners with multiple service providers on a revenue-sharing basis to offer specific curated services. On the other hand, CureBay also operates a membership programme that entails free consultations, discounts on medicines and testing as well as time-bound arrival of ambulances. The service is charged at INR 599 per person annually and INR 999 per year for two persons.
According to the CEO, the startup is largely focused on hinterlands and areas where there are no primary healthcare centres within a 5–10 km range. As part of the ongoing pilot, the startup currently only operates 15 eClinics in Odisha and plans to expand to adjoining areas as well.
So far, the startup claims to have helped more than 10,000 patients under its pilot programme.
After acquiring a critical mass of data, CureBay also plans to leverage its tech stack to enable doctors to access detailed and personalised patient records to deliver diagnoses and provide medicines on-demand for customers.
CureBay operates at the intersection of SaaS and healthcare. According to Inc42, the SaaS healthtech space is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 45% by 2025, the fastest pace within the overall healthtech space.
Just like other sectors, the space has also been hit hard by the ongoing funding winter. This has been reflected in meagre funding trickling into the sector as investors have largely stayed away from the space. The healthtech sector has not seen any big-ticket funding announcements, even as players such as PharmEasy have shelved plans for IPO.
Despite this, healthtech platform 5C Network raised about $4.6 Mn in a Series A funding round led by venture capital firm Celesta Capital last month. In August, another such player HealthAssure secured INR 50 Cr in a Pre-Series B funding round led by the Rajiv Dadlani Group.
An Inc42 report estimates the overall Indian healthtech market to grow to $21 Bn in size by 2025.
