Mumbai-based Juno Clinic has raised about $1.2 Mn (INR 8 Cr) in Pre-Series A round of funding from Atul Nishar (founder of Hexaware Technologies & Aptech Computers) and other individual investors.
Founded in January 2016, by Davesh Manocha, Anuraag Srivastava, Arun Kumar and Dr. Vishal Sawant, Juno Clinic is an online and offline startup focussed on mental health counselling and treatment.
The round also saw participation from the family office of Sunita and Neeraj Bhargava (founder of Zodius Capital), Vikas Khemani (President & CEO, Edelweiss Securities Ltd) and other individual investors.
The online clinic allows counselling through online video connection, phone or chat. The startup has also started offline counselling clinics in Mumbai, with the first two clinics set up in Khar and Powai.
The startup is not an aggregator for service providers. It hires senior psychologists and psychiatrists full time. The company currently claims to have a medical team of 35.
Talking about the startup, Anuraag Srivastava co-founder, Juno Clinic said, “We believe that only through the full-stack model, where we employ our medical team, can ensure quality clinical services promise to our customers. We have a top class medical team, which gets further training on important aspects of online counselling.”
The startup will use the funding proceeds to expand into both domestic and international markets online. It also aims to increase its physical footprint within India and launch new B2B-based products offerings that will ensure comprehensive solutions to all mental health problems.
In September 2016, SHEROES, a jobs and career community for women, acquired health counselling platform LoveDoctor. LoveDoctor is a counselling service and operates via web-based chat, SMS, and WhatsApp. The services are available worldwide with a focus on India, East Africa, and Southeast Asia.
According to recent estimates by The Lancet Study, in India only 1 in 10 patients with mental health disorder receives evidence-based treatment. Social stigma is seen as the biggest challenge that stops people from seeking professional help.
However, a slew of startups have emerged in the past two years to provide support from psychologists, counsellors, sexologists, and psychiatrists through digital platforms like chat, video conferencing or telephonic interaction. Anonymity and the comfort of not being seen may make online counselling a compelling proposition for those who seek help. Other startups in this domain include Ahmedabad-based OoWomaniya, Gurugram-based ePsyclinic, Mumbai-based Type A Thought, and Bengaluru-based YourDost.com.
