Flipkart’s founders, Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal have invested an undisclosed amount in Pandorum Technologies, that has found a way to 3D-print experimental-stage human liver tissues in a laboratory. This marks their fourth investment in a healthcare startup.
Founded in 2011 by Arun Chandru and Tuhin Bhowmick, research scholars at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, Pandorum designs and manufactures functional human tissues intended for medical research.
Prior to this investment, Pandorum has been dependent on grants from the government funding agency Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, which makes for a longer process than securing equity funding.
“We were focussing on liver tissues. We have now started bioengineering of cornea along with a leading eye hospital in India,” said Arun Chandru, founder Pandorum.
Founded in 2007, as an online bookstore and turning it into the most-funded etailer, Flipkart’s founders haves invested in more than 10 startups till date. They recently invested about $1 Mn (INR 6.2 Cr) in offline games startup MadRat Games. In the month of August, Bengaluru-based online learning platform Unacademy had raised funding from them. In addition, startups like Ather, Yumlane, and HashLearn have also secured funding from the Bansal brothers in 2016.
Some of their early investments included hyperlocal electronics seller Zopper and social shopping network Roposo. But their investment in Rahul Yadav’s second startup, Intelligent Interfaces, was a dud. Apart from these, they have invested in Sheroes, Wrig Nanosystem, Tracxn, News in Shorts and others.
As their portfolio has grown, they have formalised their investment process and are working with Tsai Shen Capital, a multi-family office and investment firm set up by Sailesh Tulshan, a former wealth manager with Client Associates and HDFC Bank. Tsai Shen also works with portfolio companies on their future fundraising, among other things.
(The development was reported by ET.)
