According to the API Holdings, the new funds raised will allow the company to deepen its relationships and penetration in existing geographical markets as it looks to reach over 100,000 pharmacies in the next 12 months
API Holdings, the parent company of e-pharmacy, PharmEasy, on Wednesday said that it has closed $323 million as a part of its Series E fund raise in a mix of primary and secondary funding, from Prosus Ventures (formerly Naspers Ventures) and TPG Growth.
Existing investors including Temasek, CDPQ, LGT Lightrock, Eight Roads and Think Investments also participated in the Series E round.
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Premium With this round the total valuation of the entity has hit $1.5 billion, adding itself to the flurry of startups turning into a unicorn, according to two individuals aware of the discussion.
According to the company, the new funds raised will allow the company to deepen its relationships and penetration in existing geographical markets as it looks to reach over 100,000 pharmacies in the next 12 months.
The new funding will also enable the company to further build out its platform to provide an increased range of services to healthcare practitioners and patients.
“We have been able to not only provide consumers with much faster and easier access to the healthcare products and services they need, but that we have been able to do so by empowering and digitising 60,000 small pharmacy stores that provide such an essential service to the Indian public," said Siddharth Shah, co-founder and chief executive of API Holdings.
API Holdings currently claims to connect over 60,000 brick and mortar pharmacies and 4,000 doctors in 16,000 zip codes across India. The company digitises and organizes supply chains to provide easy access for pharmacies to affordable and authentic products.
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Premium Premium The group also provides software-as-a-service (SaaS) software to pharmacies helping them with procurement, delivery and logistics support. It also provides credit solutions to these pharmacies, assisting them to buy over 200,000 medicines from over 3,000 pharmaceutical manufacturers.
“We are always looking for big areas of consumer spend that are ripe for disruption, and outpatient healthcare in India fits perfectly within that remit. API Holdings has built a comprehensive solution that meets the needs of key players in the healthcare ecosystem in India," said Ashutosh Sharma, head of India Investments, Prosus Ventures.
Through its consumer digital healthcare offerings, API Holdings claims to cater to two million patients each month and has served over 20 million patients since inception.
Last year, Reliance Industries announced that it has acquired a majority stake in e-pharmacy company Netmeds for ₹620 crore, through its subsidiary Reliance Retail Ventures.
In September, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) also approved the merger between API Holdings and PharmEasy rival Medlife.
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