This year 14 companies, in the enterprise segment, which include Practo Technologies Pvt. Ltd , raised funds, but the funding amount drastically dropped to less than $4.5 million from last year’s $153.55 million.

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How have health tech start-ups fared so far this year
This year 14 companies, in the enterprise segment, which include Practo Technologies Pvt. Ltd ,
raised funds, but the funding amount drastically dropped to less than $4.5 million from last
year’s $153.55 million.
#DigitalErra Thought Corner
Since last year, there have been more than 800 start-ups in health technology founded in India.
The sector saw $311 million in funding to 77 of these start-ups in 2015, but the funding
slowdown has affected this space as well. In 2016 till date, 82 health tech companies have raised
only $80 million, as per data provided by Tracxn, a start-up tracker. Also, 15 such start-ups shut
shop. Some of the segments which gained investor interest this year include healthcare financing,
patient education and medical tourism facilitator.
Let us take a look at some of these health tech segments:

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E-Commerce
 This health tech segment includes online medicine marketplace, over-the-counter drugs,
personal care products and medical devices.
 As many as 95 start-ups have been founded in this segment since 2015, of which five
raised $62 million last year, out of which Netmeds Marketplace Ltd alone raised close to
$50 million in a round led by OrbiMed, a healthcare-focused investment firm.
 The funding since then has narrowed down to just 11 companies that raised $28.7 million
this year. These include 1mg Technologies Pvt. Ltd that has raised over Rs100 crore in a
series B round of funding from HBM Healthcare Investments AG, Maverick Capital
Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Omidyar Network.
Enterprise
 Enterprise refers to those companies which provide an online platform to healthcare
professionals and organizations to improve processes dealing in preventive care and
healthcare delivery.
 It is also the maximum funded segment in health tech having saw $153.55 million in
funding last year for 14 start-ups, out of which Practo Technologies Pvt. Ltd raised $120
million from China’s Tencent, Sequoia Capital Global Equities, Google Capital, Sequoia
India and Matrix Partners, among other investors.
 Apart from Practo, other start-ups in this segment are Health Enabler, Attune, Ziffi,
Qikwell and HelpingDoc.
 This year 14 companies raised funds, but the funding amount drastically dropped to less
than $4.5 million.
Patient education
 These start-ups provide online information on drugs, diseases and symptoms, medical
treatments and other healthcare related topics. These include CureJoy, Modasta and
CureInstant.
 This space saw increased funding interest this year—six start-ups raised $6.35 million
this year as compared to one start-up raising $1.15 million last year.

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Medical tourism facilitator
 A heath tech segment primarily with an entrepreneurial interest, it saw 19 such start-ups
getting founded since 2015, but it is yet to attract investors’ attention. While none of
them got funded last year, one raised $187,000 this year. This segment remains among
the least funded among health tech start-ups.
 These companies offer listing, marketplace and concierge services for medical tourists
such as LyfBoat and PlanMyMedicalTrip.
Personal health management
 This segment provides digital solutions to help users prevent, self-triage (diagnose),
monitor and treat (Therapeutics) any medical condition to occur without involvement of
any third party. Start-up names include companies such as Maya, Touchkin, Diabeto and
Inayo.
 While 54 such start-ups have been founded since last year, this segment saw minimal
funding last year—about $300,000 raised by one start-up. However, this year saw an
increase to four start-ups raising in total about $1.4 million in 2016.
Why haven't they received much funding?
An investment in a healthcare startup requires lot patience. VCs need to understand they are here
for a long run. There are few investors in these areas who carries a background usually ex-

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Pharma or ex-healthcare. They understand heathcare better than techies. VCs invest aiming to
make money in 5-7 years. In medicine or healthcare, it takes 10-15 years to bring a product to the
market. Sometimes after 8-10 years of research you still aren't able to bring out a product. So it’s
a tedious process to reap the outcome.
Another part of the story is that you will often see a guy who is not in line with the position he
holds. An experienced CPO or CIO with a pharma background who knows to bring money is one
of the best options for the sector.
Conclusion
From tracking fitness to empowering self-diagnosis tools, these startups are providing more
comprehensive, proactive disease testing self-services for consumers in India. Greater awareness
and government policies can bring more friendly news for the sector.