Healthtech Startup Pristyn Care Raises $4 Mn From Sequoia India

Pristyn Care, a healthcare delivery startup that offers patients a range of elective surgeries across proctology, gynaecology, urology and ENT, has raised $4 Mn in Series A funding round from Sequoia India. The company will use the capital to improve its medical capabilities, invest in technology and expand its team of medical professionals.

Founded in late 2018 Harsimarbir Singh, Dr Vaibhav Kapoor and Dr Garima Sawhney, Pristyn Care specialises in offering patients affordable advanced surgical care through innovative surgical techniques and recovery measures. Till date, they have facilitated over 2000 surgeries, performed by a team of experienced doctors specialising in the areas of minimal access surgery, laser, cosmetic & aesthetic gynaecology, laparoscopic surgery, infertility and onco gynaecology.

“There is a significant need to improve day care procedures in India. Our vision is to transform the future of healthcare by using improved medical techniques, personalised patient care and support that caters to the specialised medical requirements of patients,” said Harsimarbir Singh, cofounder of Pristyn Care.

“We believe there is a huge opportunity in the healthcare sector and are very excited that Sequoia India has bought into our vision. Our association with them will help us build world-class healthcare solutions for the Indian consumer,” he added.

Community Based Asset Light Model Leading Way For Pristyn

The company follows an asset-light model, leveraging the medical infrastructure of existing partner hospitals and equipping them with state-of-the-art medical equipment. They are also building relevant technology to drive efficiency and scalability in their operations.

With a focus on patient experience, Pristyn Care provides a concierge service to seamlessly guide the patients through the journey from diagnosis to recovery.

“Our goal and aim is to bring the same level of advanced surgical care to a patient’s neighborhood in Tier 2 or 3 town such as  Ranchi or Gwalior as it is in Delhi or Hyderabad,” said Harsimarbir to Inc42.

“We are doing this by using the most advanced medical treatment/medical equipment for our focus disease lines, even to the extent that we equip our hospital partners to use them as required for our patients.  We have invested heavily in improving the surgical journey by solving problems such as  Insurance clearance, diagnostic or radiology tests etc,” he added.

Ashish Agrawal, Principal, Sequoia Capital India Advisors believes that the healthcare journey for patients in India involves multiple steps and service providers, which ends up being cumbersome and overwhelming.

“ Their community of medical professionals, coupled with their asset light model, should help them scale with strong economics. Sequoia India is excited to partner with Pristyn Care in their mission to provide high-quality healthcare delivery and streamline the patient experience,” he added.

Pristyn Care is currently operational in 20 clinics across Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad, the startup plans to expand its clinic network to 50 by December 2019.

Existing Opportunity In Indian Healthcare

The healthcare delivery startup believes that there is a huge opportunity in the healthcare sector and that their association with Sequoia India will help them build world-class healthcare solutions for the Indian consumer.

According to a March 2019 report by IBEF, healthcare market in india is expected to reach $372 Bn by 2022. The report further adds that India’s competitive advantage lies in its large pool of well-trained medical professionals. India is also cost competitive compared to its peers in Asia and Western countries. The cost of surgery in India is about one-tenth of that in the US or Western Europe.

This has fuelled the growth of startups providing after-care services for surgery or critical illness patients. Apart from Pristyn Care, a few other notable names here are Zoctr, Portea Medical, Care24 among others.

The increasing investor interest in the sector further strengthens the available opportunity. According to Inc42 Datalabs estimate, there was an overall increase of 45.06% in the total investment made in healthtech startups in 2018.