PremjiInvest leads large funding round in US-based Iora Health

By Narinder Kapur

  • 12 Feb 2020
Credit: 123RF.com

Iora Health Inc., a startup focussed on providing primary health care, has raised $126 million (nearly Rs 900 crore at current exchange rates) in its Series F funding round led by PremjiInvest, the family office of Wipro Ltd founder chairman Azim Premji

Existing investors Cox Enterprises, F-Prime Capital, Devonshire Investors, Flare Capital Partners, Polaris Partners, and Khosla Ventures also participated in the round.

The US-based company will use the funds to accelerate its growth, refine and optimise its carer model, Iora Health said in a statement.

It will also increase its investment in its proprietary collaborative care platform – Chirp – with a view to delivering features that will certify it as a Medicare Certified Electronic Health Records (EHR) system.

"At PremjiInvest, we see a need and an opportunity for innovation in healthcare," firm partner Dhiraj Malkani said. The team at Iora is at the forefront of this transformation. The impact they have already made on the thousands of patients they serve is impressive, he added.

Iora Health, founded in 2010, says its model provides service to patients with a focus on improved outcomes and lower costs. Its services also include office- and non-office-based encounters, and an accessible and transparent medical record along with educational offerings.

The firm says its model has ensured a compound annual growth rate of over 70%, with the company having 48 practices across the US.

Meanwhile, Rushika Fernandopulle, founder at PremjInvest said the Series F investment was proof of the company’s business and technological model and the progress made by it since its inception.

PremjiInvest’s bets

The family office-cum-investment firm began operations in 2006 and has since racked up several public markets and private funding deals. Sectors it has focussed on include technology, retail, consumer, healthcare and financial services.

In the healthcare sector, for example, it invested in the Mumbai-based Koye Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd in 2018. In January this year, VCCircle exclusively reported that PremjiInvest had increased its stake in a pharmacy chain that is aiming to go public.

Last month, VCCircle reported that the family office was in discussions to back an e-commerce company, in what could be its single-largest investment in the sector. Previously, it has backed companies in the space such as Myntra and Snapdeal.