Healthtech startup MediBuddy has acquired vHealth by Aetna, the Indian subsidiary of US healthcare company Aetna Inc., for an undisclosed amount.
The deal will help MediBuddy widen its distribution channels and scale its operations and product offerings, said Satish Kannan, co-founder and chief executive at MediBuddy, at a news conference.
“The revenue of vHealth will contribute to 30% of MediBuddy’s revenue,” he said.
Operated by Indian Health Organization (IHO) Pvt. Ltd, vHealth by Aetna is a primary healthcare service provider catering to business-to-business (B2B) clients in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector. The company offers subscription-based primary healthcare services such as telehealth consultations, outpatient network, pharmacy, diagnostics and dental, among others.
As part of the deal, vHealth by Aetna will be rebranded as MediBuddy vHealth over the next six months. MediBuddy will also absorb the management personnel and all the employees. Currently, vHealth has about 180 employees.
Notably, a few weeks ago, MediBuddy had fired almost a same number of employees as part of a restructuring exercise. Kannan, however, clarified that the layoffs were not related to the onboarding of vHealth’s employees.
In the financial year ended March 2022, vHealth by Aetna’s revenue from operations grew by 9.5% to ₹ 150 crore, according to VCCEdge data. Net loss widened to ₹6.8 crore from ₹5.5 crore in FY21.
Kannan said vHealth has around 1.4 million subscribers while MediBuddy has a customer base of over 30 million. “vHealth by Aetna’s subscriber base will now have the convenience and the opportunity to access the full spectrum of the healthcare services provided by MediBuddy,” he added.
MediBuddy last raised $125 million in its Series C round co-led by Quadria Capital and Lightrock India in February last year. It also counts Bessemer Venture Partners, India Life Sciences Fund III, Rebright Partners, JAFCO Asia, TEAMFund LP, FinSight Ventures, InnoVen Capital, Stride Ventures and Alteria Capital as its investors.
Following the funding round, the company acquired online doctor consultation platform Clinix in July 2022. The company is in talks to acquire more companies either to add new services to its portfolio or to add more sales channels, said Kanan.
The company might also explore expanding its operations internationally in 2025. “Southeast Asia and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are two markets where we plan to expand either organically or inorganically,” he said.
MediBuddy was founded in 2015 by Kannan and Enbasekar Dinadayalane, both IIT Madras alumni. The company offers online and offline doctor consultations, medicine delivery, lab tests at home, mental health consultations, and surgery care, among other services. In June 2020, the company had merged its health business with doctor consultation platform DocsApp. Following the acquisition, the name of the registered entity was changed to Phasorz Technologies Pvt. Ltd from Medi Assist Healthcare Services Pvt Ltd.
MediBuddy posted a 58% growth in operating revenue to ₹234 crore in FY22. However, its net loss swelled more than two times to ₹249 crore in FY22 from₹ 103 crore in FY21. Kannan said the company is likely to end FY23 with a two-fold growth in revenue.
