AddressHealth Solutions Pvt Ltd, which runs clinics focusing on primary paediatric care in Bangalore, is raising Rs 2 crore ($333,000) from Unitus Seed Fund (USF), in what marks a pre-Series A round of funding for the healthcare firm.
This is the second external funding for the company which had raised Rs 1 crore in angel funding last year from a US-based investor of Indian origin.
“With the capital that we have raised, we plan to set up full-fledged school-based health centres which will provide paediatric primary care like medical services, vaccination, dental care and nutrition care among others,” said Anand Lakshman, founder & CEO of AddressHealth.
AddressHealth, which was founded in 2010 by doctor entrepreneurs Lakshman and Anoop Radhakrishnan, runs school programmes and primary healthcare clinics for children in Bangalore. This is the first entrepreneurial venture for Lakshman and the second one for Radhakrishnan who is also the founder of investment banking firm IndigoEdge Management Consultancy.
The company’s business model revolves around a pre-paid annual healthcare package. At present it runs three primary healthcare clinics and according to Lakshman, the company plans to set up around five such centres in Bangalore within this financial year.
Apart from these, it will set up smaller satellite centres which will be video-enabled. These centres will have video link with AddressHealth clinics wherein paediatricians sitting in the clinics will provide inputs while visiting nurses will take care of children who are undergoing medical attention.
Mumbai-based Blue Sky Capital and K LAW were the financial and legal advisors for AddressHealth while USF was advised by Unitus Capital, Venture Bean Consulting and Impact Law Ventures.
“We were excited by the size of the opportunity and the possibility of creating India’s first paediatric primary healthcare brand,” said Dave Richards, managing partner, USF.
According to Lakshman, the company will test various delivery models within Bangalore before it decides to replicate it in other locations. For that, it could again look at raising capital next year.
In an earlier interaction with VCCircle, Lakshman had said that the company is chasing a target to launch over 200 clinics in six states in the next five years.
The firm had last year raised Rs 1 crore from Rajiv Garg and his wife Minaxi Garg. Rajiv Garg was earlier president and CEO of New York-based Wyckoff Heights Medical Center (WHMC).
Unitus Seed Fund, which provides seed capital to start-up companies and invests in agriculture, healthcare, technology for development and education among others, has been fairly active in backing startups in India.
AddressHealth marks its third healthcare related investment and sixth new bet on an Indian firm this year. It has recently backed ventures like grocery buying platform Jiffstore, mobile ordering service platform for auto rickshaw mGaadia, professional laundry services company Laundry Project, dental chain Smile Merchants besides online healthcare focused marketplace Medypal. Last year it had also invested in eye screening services firm Welcare Health Systems Pvt. Ltd.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
