Bengaluru-based health technology startup mfine has raised Rs 31 crore ($4.5 million) in debt funding from venture debt firm Alteria Capital.
The startup, operated by Novocura Tech Health Services Pvt. Ltd, said in a statement it will use the funding to triple its investments in artificial intelligence, mobile engineering and hardware integration. It also plans to expand its hospital network in the National Capital Region, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata in the next six months.
The company uses its artificial intelligence-powered platform to connect patients with doctors for virtual consultations.
“We are able to bring high-quality healthcare to users’ mobile—be it doctor consultations, medicine orders, diagnostics tests or digital tools. The recently closed Series B and Alteria's current investment are an endorsement of our differentiation and potential to create a large-scale health-tech business,” mfine co-founder and CEO Prasad Kompalli said.
The startup raised $17.2 million (Rs 120 crore) in its Series B funding round in April. The round was led by SBI Investment, the venture capital unit of Japanese financial services company SBI Group. Two more new investors, Singapore-based SBI Ven Capital and tech-focused global venture capital firm Beenext, also participated in this round. Existing investors Stellaris Venture Partners and Prime Venture Partners also contributed.
Last year, mfine had raised $4.2 million (Rs 28.5 crore) in a Series A round led by Prime Venture Partners. Stellaris and healthcare entrepreneur Mayur Abhaya Srisrimal also participated in the round.
Founded in 2017 by Kompalli and Myntra co-founder Ashutosh Lawania, the startup has built a network of 160 hospitals across five cities. It says it uses its team of more than 80 in-house doctors working with its AI engine to offer diagnosis and care. According to mfine, the engine has the ability to diagnose and prescribe treatment procedures for over 1,200 common illnesses and diseases.
Health-tech deals
Health-tech startups have seen heightened investor interest in activity in recent months, as many seek to fulfill different needs across the healthcare value chain as well as filling gaps in India’s own public system.
Last month, VCCircle exclusively reported that venture debt provider Trifecta Capital had offered to invest Rs 70 crore ($10 million) in Practo Technologies Pvt. Ltd. A person familiar with the developments said that half the amount had already been raised, with the remaining being provided based on Practo raising a certain amount of equity funding. Practo had last raised equity funding in 2017, when it secured $55 million in a Series D round led by existing investor China's Tencent.
Similarly, mental health-focussed artificial intelligence-based chat platform Wysa raised Rs 15 crore (around $2.15 million) in a pre-Series A funding round led by pi Ventures. Early-stage specialist Kae Capital, an existing investor in Wysa, also participated in the round.