Practo Raises $55 Million In Series D, Forays Into Health Insurance

Online healthcare provider Practo today announced a $55 million Series D funding round led by Tencent. Three new investors namely ru-Net, RSI Fund (owned by Recruit Holdings), and Thrive Capital participated in the funding along with existing investors Sequoia Capital, Matrix Partners, Capital G (formerly Google Capital), Altimeter Capital, and Sofina.

The funding comes at a time as the company forays into the health insurance segment. By entering the health insurance segment, Practo aims to address the poor consumer experience and low-penetration related to health insurance.

Last year, Practo has seen a 90 per cent growth in the number of patients, 80 per cent growth in the number of appointments booked, and 60 per cent growth in enterprises. In India, Max Healthcare, Manipal Hospitals, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Sparsh, Lifeline Hospitals, and Cloudnine are some of the hospitals that have partnered with Practo last year.

Practo has also expanded its enterprise software to the Middle East with customers including Lifeline Hospital in Abu Dhabi and American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery Hospital in Dubai using Insta – the full-stack HIMS solution for enterprises.

Practo recently acquired advanced analytics firm Enlightiks to offer business intelligence solutions to healthcare enterprises. “With this, Practo has completed the entire suite of products both on consumer and healthcare practitioners’ side and opened the possibility of unlocking more value for the entire ecosystem,” the company said in a statement.

Practor will be using a significant part of the funding to continue its international expansion. It launched operations in Brazil last year and already has a presence in Singapore, Philippines, and Indonesia. Currently, the international market contributes about 20 per cent to the company’s revenue.

“This round will help us continue our geographic expansion. 2017 will be the year our integrated healthcare platform comes to life and we will partner with various service providers to build solutions with Practo. This will be made possible by providing a central infrastructure on which the entire healthcare ecosystem can interact, connect, create & exchange value by linking layers of data, communication & payments to deliver better care,” said Shashank ND, founder & CEO, Practo.

From a consumer behaviour standpoint, Practo is witnessing maximum traction from the mobile web version followed by the app and desktop version. Consumers use Practo to find the right healthcare provider and book appointments.