Practo raises $55m series D led by Tencent

Photo credit: sheeler / 123RF.

India’s Practo, a healthcare startup, has raised US$55 million in series D funding led by China’s Tencent. Three new investors – Thrive Capital, Ru-Net, and Recruit – joined the existing investors in this round, the team announced this afternoon.

Shashank ND, Practo’s founder and CEO, said the funds will be used to foray into health insurance, partnering with leading health insurance providers, and will look at bundling them with its consumer-facing services.

Practo CEO Shashank ND (right) in a fireside chat at TIA Singapore 2016.

Aggregating over 200,000 doctors across a network of 10,000 hospitals, 8,000 diagnostic centers, and 4,000 wellness and fitness centers in India, Brazil, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, the startup does everything from connecting patients to doctors, helping clinics manage their customers, and creating customized fitness digital products.

Practo started in 2008 as a practice management software just for doctors, but launched the doctor discovery platform as we know it today, only in 2013.

See: This dorm room startup CEO went from $200 to $125m in seven years

Profitable, sort of

The service gets the majority of its revenues from enterprise clients, while international markets such as Indonesia and Brazil account for 20 percent. Practo’s enterprise segment saw 60 percent growth in 2016, Shashank said. With this, Practo expects to turn profitable in certain segments this year, but it’s still some way away from a company-level break-even.

In 2016, Practo booked close to 45 million appointments and five million patient records were shared on its app, Shashank said.

The startup last raised US$90 million in August 2015. The company has raised a little over US$179 million to date, making it the most well funded healthcare start-up in India.

Practo acquired Bangalore-based analytics firm Enlightiks in December, its fifth acquisition in two years. Three of Practo’s five acquisitions – Quikwell, Insta, and Enlightiks – offer tech solutions for healthcare institutions.

(Updated to add company background)