D2C Dental Care Startup Snazzy Raises Funding

D2C dental care startup Snazzy has raised $2.2 Mn in a seed funding round from YCombinator, Form Capital, Goodwater Capitan and ANIM Fund. Kunal Shah (founder, CRED), Bobby Goodlatte (Stripe and Coinbase angel investor), Eric Idiahi (partner, Verod Capital), and others also participated in the round. 

Founded in 2020 by Ayush Pateria and Keshav Chouksey, Snazzy uses a direct-to-consumer business model to sell invisible braces directly to patients who need them. An initial scanning is conducted at a dental clinic near the customer’s house. After that, the customers can review their treatment plan with Snazzy’s onboarded orthodontists before the braces are shipped to them. 

The startup will use the funds to strengthen its teams across engineering, marketing, operations, dentistry and sales to support its new accelerated growth plan. 

“It was shocking to find that the existing aligner solutions were priced at upwards of INR 2 Lakh, making it accessible only to a few ultra-privileged. At Snazzy, we have used a tech-first approach to make straighter smiles accessible, convenient and affordable,” said Ayush Pateria, cofounder and CEO of Snazzy. 

According to Snazzy’s website, pricing for its teeth alignment solution begins at INR 39,000. Whereas, as per other online sources, invisible braces seem to be priced at between INR 1,00,000 and 2,80,000. 

The global orthodontics market was valued at $4.06 Bn in 2018 and is projected to reach $9.72 Bn by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 11.6%. The rising prevalence and awareness about malocclusions (misaligned teeth or a ‘poor bite’) is expected to drive this market as more people need orthodontic care. In the Asia Pacific region, the market is expected to be worth $4.2 Bn by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 36.4% from 2019. 

“Ayush and the Snazzy team from day one have fundamentally focused on providing access to care and a better way of living, regardless of an individual’s ability to satisfy incredibly high prices”, said Anya Hayden, general partner at ANIM. 

“We respect this underlying motivation tremendously and coupled with the technology and operational savvy the team brings forth,” Hayden added. 

In August this year, D2C dental startup Toothsi had raised $20 Mn in a Series B funding round led by Eight Roads Ventures, San Francisco-based Think Investments and the Mankekar Family Office. Prior to that, it had raised $5 Mn as part of its Series A funding in January this year.

Another startup in this space, Thiruvananthapuram-based cloud dental software startup CareStack had raised $22.5 Mn from Steadview Capital, Delta Dental of California, Accel Partners, Eight Roads and F-Prime Capital in April this year.

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