Plum Commits INR 200 Cr To Expand Into Digital Health Services: Report

Bengaluru-based insurtech startup Plum is reportedly looking to expand into full stack digital health services and has committed INR 200 Cr ($23.3 Mn) over the next three to four years for the same.

The Tiger Global-backed company is launching Plum Health to offer diagnostics, teleconsultations and AI-powered health tracking to working professionals across India.

An ET report, citing Plum’s cofounder and chief executive Abhishek Poddar, said that the capital will be deployed for hiring clinical and engineering talent, developing technology infrastructure and scaling partnerships and go-to-market initiatives. A large part of this investment will go into technology.

He added that the investment will further help in driving the startup’s expansion plan. It will be made through cash reserves and profits from Plum’s core insurance business.

Inc42 has reached out to Poddar for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on his response.

“While we are not opposed to raising funds as we continue to grow and expand our business, our investment in healthcare is not contingent on a fresh fundraise,” Poddar told the publication.

Meanwhile, Plum is also roping in healthtech startup Wellthy Therapeutics founder Prayat Shah to lead the healthcare vertical.

Shah has been with Wellthy Therapeutics for nearly a decade, and has previously served as consultant with companies such as KPMG and PwC Consulting.

Founded in 2019 by Poddar and Saurabh Arora, Plum is a B2B insurtech platform that engages with SMEs and startups to provide insurance, healthcare and well-being benefits to employees. The Bengaluru-based company has created underwriting and fraud detection algorithms that allow companies to benefit from group insurance.

Based on the company’s website, Plum works with the likes of Zomato, Swiggy, smallcase, wework and others. In all, Plum claims to have more than 4,000 customers and is providing benefits to over 500K people.

Since its inception, Plum has cumulatively raised $20.6 Mn so far. It counts Sequoia Capital, Tanglin Venture Partners, Incubate Fund and Gemba Capital, Tracxn Labs and Incubate India, among others.

It competes with the likes of Pazcare, Nova Benefits and Onsurity.

The development comes at a time when a host of startups across sectors are making their entry into the healthcare landscape, betting on its growing market opportunity.

For instance, Amazon India launched Amazon Diagnostics, an at-home healthcare service, less than a month ago.

Also, insurtech major PB Fintech received the board approval to incorporate its healthcare arm PB Healthcare. The vertical secured $218 Mn as a part of its seed funding round led by General Catalyst, in May this year.

Meanwhile, investors are flocking into healthtech investments to back their expansion plans. Based on Inc42’s recent data, the healthtech sector has secured $377 Mn in the first half of this calendar year, across 29 deals.

In May, CureBay raised $21 Mn), while Dozee bagged INR 71.5 Cr in a mix of equity and debt, earlier in March.