India's HealthifyMe closes $75m Series C

Additional commitments came from Unilever Ventures, Elm (Saudi PIF entity), healthcare-focused VC investor HealthQuad, and Elm, a unit of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund that makes early-stage tech investments. Existing backers Chiratae Ventures, Inventus, and Sistema Fund re-upped.

Headquartered in Bangalore, HealthifyMe offers subscription-based coaching plans for weight loss and disease reversal. It is best known for artificial intelligence (AI)-human hybrid plans that focus on eating habits, fitness, and weight monitoring. There is also an AI-only solution that is said to be the only one of its kind to deliver empirically proven results at scale.

The company is developing two new products: a management system for chronic conditions like diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension; and a live workout solution.

HealthifyMe claims to be India and Southeast Asia’s largest digital wellness platform, with over 1,500 coaches serving more than 25 million users across 300 cities. It recently surpassed 25 million downloads, while annual recurring revenue is on course to reach $50 million within six months. User numbers and revenue have both doubled in the past 12 months.

The company’s core market is India, but it now generates about 25% of revenue from other geographies, notably North America and Southeast Asia. In the likes of Malaysia and Singapore, products are tailored to meet local needs, aiming to attract more than just Indian expatriates.

The new funding will support international expansion, with North America regarded as a priority market. There are likely to be bolt-on acquisitions of relevant companies within the digital health and fitness space. HealthifyMe will also invest in product development and recruitment. In 2021, the engineering and product teams will double in size and 1,000 trainers and coaches will be onboarded.

“Investing in prevention and treatment of chronic disease and underlying drivers, such as obesity, has long been a focus for LeapFrog’s healthcare team," said Biju Mohandas, partner and global co-leader for health investments at LeapFrog, in a statement.

"The outsized impact of COVID-19 on people suffering from chronic diseases has reinforced how vital it is that we continue to prevent this burden affecting tens of millions of lives and livelihood,” 

Two-thirds of India’s population – or 860 million people – suffer from lifestyle-related diseases, while cardiovascular diseases and diabetes account for every three in 10 deaths.

LeapFrog, which has contributed $30 million to the round, has now made five investments in India’s healthcare sector. HealthifyMe represents Khosla’s first foray into the country’s health-tech space. It is also the global venture capital firm’s largest single investment in India to date.

DC Advisory served as HealthifyMe’s financial advisor for the Series C round.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Southeast Asia
• Technology
• Healthcare
• Expansion
• India
• Khosla Ventures
• LeapFrog Investments
• Public Investment Fund
• Chiratae Ventures
• Growth capital