SRI Capital, others invest in healthcare fintech startup LetsMD

LetsMD, a fintech startup in the healthcare space, has raised $1 million (Rs 6.5 crore) in a pre-Series A round of funding led by SRI Capital.

The round was also participated by the existing investors Waterbridge Ventures and ThinKuvate, a Singapore-based venture capital firm.

LetsMD said in a statement that it will use the fresh infusion to scale up its operations across the country.

Operated by Medbay India Pvt. Ltd, the startup runs an online marketplace which helps patients finance elective surgeries. Customers get the option of converting their surgery bills into equated monthly installments (EMIs).

LetsMD’s chief executive officer Nivesh Khandelwal said, “With private insurance penetration pegged at less than 10% and healthcare inflation growing at more than 15%, financing out-of-pocket expenses will be healthcare’s most important challenge in the next decade.”

The Delhi-based startup was founded by Khandelwal, Prakhar Gupta, and Tenzin Thargay.

Wharton graduate Khandelwal has entrepreneurial experience in the food & beverage and healthcare segments while Gupta, an alumnus of Purdue University, has had stints at startups in both Silicon Valley and India.

Thargay, a graduate of Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore, has more than a decade of experience across consumer internet and digital health platforms.

In 2016, LetsMD had raised Rs 3.4 crore (around $500,000) in angel funding at a valuation of $3-4 million in a round led by WaterBridge Ventures.

Other participants included Calcutta Angels Network (CAN), LetsVenture, People Group founder and CEO Anupam Mittal, and Currae Healthtech Fund.

LetsMD says it has partnered with more than 200 hospital and super specialty chains such as Fortis Healthcare and Max Healthcare in the Delhi-NCR region.