Tata Digital on Thursday announced that it will acquire a majority stake in 1MG, a digital health startup. The investment is the latest in a series of investments the Tata Group has made as part of its strategy to build a super app and comes weeks after the salt-to-steel Indian conglomerate bought BigBasket, as well as announced an investment in fitness startup CureFit.
The company, however, did not divulge the financial details of the transaction.
Tata Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Group. The acquisition in IMG is in accordance with Tata Group's vision of creating a digital ecosystem that addresses the consumer needs across categories in a unified manner, the company said in a statement.
Tata Digital said that e-diagnostics, e-pharmacy, and teleconsultation are critical segments in this ecosystem and have been among the fastest-growing segments in the space, as the sector enabled access to healthcare through the pandemic.
"The investment in 1MG strengthens Tata's ability to provide superior customer experience and high-quality healthcare products and services in the e-pharmacy and e-diagnostics space through a technology-led platform," said Pratik Pal, chief executive officer (CEO) of Tata Digital.
Started in 2015, 1MG provides online delivery of health and wellness products, medicines, diagnostics services, and teleconsultation to customers.
"We are delighted to join hands with one of India's most iconic and respected conglomerates. This marks a significant milestone in 1MG's journey to make high-quality healthcare products and services accessible to customers across India," said Prashant Tandon, co-founder and CEO, 1MG.
The company currently operates three state-of-the-art diagnostic labs, has a supply chain covering over 20,000 pin codes across the country, and is also engaged in the business of B2B distribution of medicines & other healthcare products through its subsidiaries, the statement said.
On Monday, Tata Digital had announced that it would invest $75 million (around Rs 550 crore) in fitness-focused Curefit Healthcare for an undisclosed stake.
Curefit's founder and chief executive Mukesh Bansal will join Tata Digital in an executive role as its president, an official statement said, adding that he will continue in his leadership role at Curefit as well.
Tata group has been on an acquisition spree in the e-commerce space. Last month, it acquired a majority stake in online grocery seller BigBasket for an undisclosed sum of money, pitting it against the likes of billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance and Amazon.
The deal would pit the conglomerate against Ambani's JioMart, Amazon, and Walmart's Flipkart for a pie of the online grocery business that has grown exponentially during the pandemic.
About half of India's $1 trillion retail market comprises grocery sales. The online grocery market is expected to reach $4.3 billion in 2021 from $2.9 billion in the previous year.