Healthcare Startup iKure Raises Funding From Ratan Tata

Kolkata-based healthcare startup iKure has secured an undisclosed amount from Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Group. 

With the fresh capital, the company plans to scale its operations across India and globally, and provide healthcare services to over 10 Mn people in the next five years.

Founded in 2010, iKure disseminates primary healthcare, wellness and prevention services to rural, semi-urban and urban populations through its hubs-and-spokes clinic model.

Till date, iKure has provided primary healthcare services to over 1.1 Mn people across seven states in India and is looking to provide healthcare services to over 10 Mn people within the next 5 years, the company said in a statement.

Commenting on the investment, iKure founder and CEO Sujay Santra said, “We are extremely pleased to have been considered by Ratan Tata for an investment. This is a huge honour and encouragement for us.”

In terms of investments, iKure has raised $1.5 Mn so far, from investors in India, US, Singapore and Japan. In 2019, the startup raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Inflection Point Ventures (IPV).

The company is eyeing to deliver primary healthcare by addressing several challenges like accessibility, affordability, availability and awareness. iKure’s technology platform is currently being used in several African countries, the company said in a statement to ET.

The Ratan Tata led Tata Group had invested in several startups which include Tork Motors, Snapdeal, Cure.fit, Paytm, Ola, Repos Energy, ClimaCell, Abra, CarDekho, HolaChef, FirstCry, Lenskart, NestAway, Urban Ladder, UrbanClap, GOQii, Xiaomi, Lybrate, Infinite Analytics, CashKaro, DogSpot, BlueStone, Zivame and Generic Aadhaar.

According to Inc42 analysis, the Indian healthtech market will contribute $21 Bn by 2025, which is still only 3.3% of the total addressable healthcare market which is pegged to reach $638 Bn in 2025.