Online pharmacy 1mg gets $10 mn from Korean healthcare fund, others

Gurugram-based 1mg Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which operates an eponymous online pharmacy, has raised $10.32 million (Rs 65.37 crore) in fresh funding led by South Korean investment firm Redwood Global Healthcare Fund.

Redwood acquired shares worth Rs 49.72 crore ($7.2 million), show 1mg’s filings with the Registrar of Companies. The rest came from US-based venture capital firm PinPoint Ventures, NewFlight Co, ES Investor Co. Ltd, existing investor Kae Capital and individual investors Rubal Jain and Nikhil Kumar Srivastava. 

The fresh investment is possibly part of a larger funding round.

TechCircle had reported last September that 1mg was in talks with investors to raise up to $60 million in its largest funding round till date.

In January, TechCircle reported that the firm had raised $35.31 million (Rs 248.63 crore) in fresh funding from new and existing investors. The round was led by new investor Corisol Holding AG, a Switzerland-based family office that made the investment through its wholly-owned subsidiary KWE Beteiligungen AG.

Existing investors Sequoia Capital India, Omidyar Network and Swiss healthcare-focused investment firm HBM Healthcare Investments had also put in money in that round.

In a regulatory disclosure last month, International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-sector investment arm of the World Bank, said that it planned to invest an undisclosed sum in 1mg.

Email queries to 1mg founders Vikas Chauhan and Gaurav Agarwal did not elicit a response till the time of publishing this report.

Founded in 2011 by Prashant Tandon, Chauhan and Agarwal, the online pharmacy, which was previously known as Healthkart Plus, allows customers to order medicines, consult doctors and also purchase health products on its website and via its app. Users can also book diagnostic services and lab tests.

The platform claims to have more than eight million unique users every month. 

The company has expanded its labs and e-consultation business over the past year, with online medicine sales now accounting for 60% of its revenue.

Besides 1mg, the online pharmacy sector has some well-funded players such as PharmEasy, Myra and Netmeds, all of which have raised funding in recent months. Currently, 1mg is the biggest player in the segment by net sales.

For the financial year 2017-18, the company’s operating revenue surged eight-fold to Rs 85.8 crore while losses widened three-fold. 

Deals in the segment

September 2018: Online pharmacy NetMeds Marketplace Pvt. Ltd raised $35 million in a Series C funding round from Southeast Asian business conglomerate Daun Penh Cambodia Group.

September 2018: Bengaluru-based Metarain Software Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which runs pharmacy app Myra, raised Rs 8.75 crore ($1.2 million) in additional capital led by existing investors venture capital firm Matrix Partners and Times Internet Ltd. Tokyo-based Dream Incubator also invested.

September 2018: Mumbai-based 91 Streets Media Pvt. Ltd, which operates online drug delivery platform PharmEasy, raised $50 million (Rs 363 crore) in an extended Series C round led by new investor Eight Roads Ventures.