Temasek-backed debt financing firm to invest in PharmEasy parent

EvolutionX Debt Capital, a debt financing platform launched by Temasek Holdings and DBS Group, has made its maiden investment in API Holdings, which owns India-based online pharmacy chain PharmEasy.

Photo credit: Temasek

The debt financing platform has also appointed Rahul Shah and Calvin Cheng to lead investments across India, China, and Southeast Asia. Shah is a former executive from Standard Chartered Bank, while Cheng is an ex-Citibank vice president.

API Holdings has over 6 million transacting users, the company said. It also has more than 150,000 active pharmacies and over 1,800 hospitals on its platform providing end-to-end healthcare services.

Launched in 2021, EvolutionX aims to help growth-stage tech companies scale faster and expand into new markets by providing them with an alternative source of debt financing. The company said this helps startups extend their cash runways until they can raise the next financing round or exit.

“This [maiden investment] is part of a sequence of planned capital raises,” said API Holdings CEO Siddharth Shah. “This collective capital raise will optimize the capital structure as well as improve the net debt position and financial strength of the company, ensuring a clear runway to profitability.”

See also: Behind the crypto project backed by Temasek, JP Morgan, DBS

Over the next few years, EvolutionX aims to build a strong pipeline of investment opportunities and provide amortizing term debt facilities – with ticket sizes of US$20 million to US$50 million – along with warrants or convertible instruments.