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Health-tech startup eKincare bags $1.5 mn in Series A round

By Vijayakumar Pitchiah

  • 29 Jan 2018
Health-tech startup eKincare bags $1.5 mn in Series A round
Kiran Kalakuntla, Founder & CEO eKincare

Hyderabad-based Aayuv Technologies Pvt Ltd, which operates healthcare technology startup eKincare, has raised $1.5 million (Rs 9.53 crore) in a Series A round of funding from a clutch of investors, a company statement said.

Early-stage investment firms Ventureast and Endiya Partners, private equity firm Eight Roads Ventures and financial services firm Touchstone Equities were the investors in this round. BVR Mohan Reddy, the former Nasscom chairman and executive chairman of Cyient, also participated in this round, the press note added.

The healthcare startup will use the funds to beef up its technology platform, expand its sales team, and to onboard more doctors, Kiran Kalakuntla, founder and chief executive of the venture, said.

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In March 2016, the company raised Rs 2.2 crore ($330,000) in a pre-Series A round of funding from existing investor BitKemy Ventures, Maheshwari Investments Pvt Ltd and high-net-worth individuals Anshoo Gaur (head of Amdocs in India), Rama Krishna Reddy and Sandeep Seerapu.

Prior to this, eKincare raised Rs 1 crore ($161,000) in seed funding from BitKemy Ventures and US-based healthcare enterprise firm Adroitent Pvt Ltd in December 2014 and January 2015, respectively.

eKincare was established in October 2014 by Kalakuntla, a Duke University graduate and former AT&T executive, and Dinesh Koka (co-founder and chief operating officecr), who spent 14 years managing the healthcare IT business and sales at GE Healthcare.

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Through a mobile app, the company consolidates an individual’s medical history from various healthcare providers on a single platform. The startup has tied up with healthcare providers like Vasan Eye Care, Apollo Hospitals, Maxivision Eye Hospitals, Vijaya Hospitals, to name a few.

An artificial intelligence-based personal health assistant reads medical data from health records and various healthcare interventions. It also predicts health risks and provides timely personalised recommendations. All the user has to do is take pictures of the physical medical records. The company’s app is available on both Android and iOS platforms.

Besides individual tracking, the platform also allows users to manage multiple profiles, where they can create a separate profile for members of the family. An intelligent chatbot helps the user assess, track and stay informed about their health at all times.

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The app also helps corporates manage, optimise and save on healthcare costs offered to employees as part of the benefits programme. Optum, Unilever, Barclays and Disney comprise eKincare’s customer base.

“We have seen a lot of interest from corporates to leverage our platform for their employees, keep track of the overall organisation's wellness metrics and maximize the ROI out of their wellness budgets,” Kalakuntla said.

Recent deals in the health-tech sector include Bengaluru-based Axio Biosolutions Pvt. Ltd, which last week raised $7.4 million (Rs 47 crore) in a Series B round led by Ratan Tata’s RNT Capital Advisor. The firm makes a sponge-like bandage that helps blood clot instantly when pressed against cuts or wounds.

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In December 2017, women’s-focused career platform Sheroes acquired Delhi-based child healthcare startup Babygogo.

In the same month, Afsal Salu, the former head of express delivery at online grocer BigBasket, launched his health-tech venture BestDoc. The platform offers patient relationship management (PRM) solutions to healthcare providers and professionals.

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