Square Peg joins Series B for Singapore's Doctor Anywhere

Singaporean investors Kamet Capital and EDBI also participated, as did Pavilion Capital, a unit of Singapore's Temasek Holdings, and Singapore and Malaysia-listed hospital operator IHH Healthcare. It builds on a $5.6 million Series A provided by Kamet in 2018. 

Doctor Anywhere specializes in telehealth, which entails facilitating remote healthcare consultations via online connections. The company's app is positioned as a one-stop-shop for 24-hour doctor communication in any location, doorstep medication delivery, health and wellness product shopping, and access to information on healthcare providers, including hospitals and pharmacies. 

"The world is battling the COVID-19 pandemic, which has already caused unprecedented health and economic impacts globally. Considering this, the need for a platform like Doctor Anywhere is even more urgent and acute," Tushar Roy, a partner at Square Peg, said in a statement. "But the timing of our investment is a coincidence. The reality is that this investment is the culmination of many years spent scouring the health landscape regionally for the right opportunity." 

This is Square Peg's fourth investment in healthcare technology after radiology software supplier Aidoc, clinical trials patient recruiter HealthMatch, and UHG, a marketplace that connects businesses such as insurance companies with healthcare professionals. The VC firm said that it was interested in Doctor Anywhere in part because the start-up's platform provides value for participants across the healthcare value chain, including patients, doctors, payors, and care facilities. 

Telehealth is seen as being in high demand in Southeast Asia due to the region's rising populations, middle class, and life expectancies. As a result of these shifts, health spending is now said to be outstripping economic growth and straining the available infrastructure, leaving patients to deal with excessive wait times, lengthy insurance processes, rising costs, and greater potential for fraud. 

Square Peg was established in 2012 by Paul Bassat, co-founder of job listings site Seek, alongside Barry Bott, previously an early-stage investor for a family office, and Tony Holt, formerly head of principal investments for Macquarie Capital Asia. The firm invests at the Series A and Series B stages across Australia, Southeast Asia, Israel, and the US. It is currently deploying its second fund, which closed last year at A$340 million ($208 million).

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Healthcare
• Technology
• Early-stage
• Singapore
• Square Peg Capital
• EDBI
• Temasek Holdings
• TMT