Healthtech platform CureBay said on Wednesday it has raised Rs 50 crore ($6.1 million) in Series A funding round led by early-stage venture capital firm Elevar Equity.
The Odisha-based startup said it will use the proceeds for hiring as it scales up its business, invest in tech and expand its services to new geographies, founder Priyadarshi Mohapatra told VCCircle in an interaction.
“The capital will enable the next phase of expansion and help reinforce our position in the country,” said Mohapatra, founder and chief executive of CureBay.
Founded in 2021 by Priyadarshi, Shobhan Mahapatra, and Sanjay Swain, CureBay enables last-mile distribution of primary healthcare services by partnering with other healthcare providers in the ecosystem. It has partnered with 15 hospitals and three national laboratory chains.
The startup helps in scheduling appointments, providing teleconsultations, delivering medicine, addressing the diagnostic needs of patients and facilitating admission for tertiary care at partner hospitals through a hybrid model in an economical way.
It currently has 15 e-clinics in remote districts and villages of Odisha, where it has helped over 10,000 patients. The startup aims to launch 100 e-clinics in the next twelve months.
“The healthcare ecosystem needs an innovative model that enables it to collaborate on a real-time basis to deliver health outcomes to patients across the country. Our hybrid model helps in overcoming the challenges of skewed patient-provider ratios and the concentration of providers in a few urban pockets,” he added.
“We, at Elevar Equity, have long held the view that rural healthcare platforms need to be custom-designed for this market. CureBay's distribution model with assisted tech is well-positioned to address a massive gap - millions of customers are eager to pay for quality healthcare in medically underserved areas,” Jyotsna Krishnan, managing partner, Elevar Equity, said.
Curebay has a team of about over 40 people currently. It aims to serve and connect patients in underserved markets to healthcare providers through a full tech stack aided by its fulfilment model.