US-based S-Squared Capital Investments has committed to invest another Rs 20 crore ($3.06 million) in Special Smiles Pvt Ltd, which runs dental chain under the brand Vatsalya Dental, a top executive of the company told VCCircle.
S-Squared Capital will make fresh investments in two tranches over the next two years, said Srivats Bharadwaj, founder and chairman, Vatsalya Dental.
The funds will be used to open five paediatric dentistry centres in Bengaluru and other parts of southern India by the end of 2019.
"The idea is to remove the fear of dentists among children and provide them holistic oral care," said Bharadwaj. The company opened its first paediatric centre called 'Dento Jungle' in JP Nagar, Bengaluru that is designed like a theme park.
The Economic Times first reported about the development.
Vatsalya Dental had raised Rs 11 crore ($1.65 million) in its pre-Series A funding round from S-Squared Capital Investments last year to expand operations, improve technology, and hire employees.
A number of dental chains in India have attracted venture capital and private equity funding over the past few years as the segment grows.
The first significant transaction in the segment was when India Equity Partners acquired a majority stake in Axiss Dental, in a rare control deal in the sector in 2012.
Early in January this year, the sector also saw a consolidation of sorts as Star Dental Centre Pvt. Ltd, operator of the Clove Dental clinic chain, acquired rival Today’s Healthcare India Pvt. Ltd that operates under the brand Denty’s. Venture capital firm Helion Venture Partners, which backed Denty's, exited in the process.
Early this year, Bangalore-based dental care startup MobiDent raised an undisclosed amount in pre-Series A funding from New York-based DanGold Investment Corp.
In April last year, Gurgaon-based Leixir Resources got $12 million from Atlanta-based Source Capital and serial healthcare entrepreneur GSK Velu.