Portea Medical eyes global expansion, raises $37.5 mn in Series B funding

Monday, September 21, 2015

Home health care company Portea Medical on Sunday said it had raised Rs 247 crore ($37.5 million) in Series-B funding led by Accel. The round also saw participation from marquee investors, including International Finance Corporation, Qualcomm Ventures and Ventureast. After the fund-raise, Arun Mathew from Accel will join Portea’s board of directors.

The investment comes in at a time when Portea is eyeing expansion in India and internationally, including  Malaysia — where it already has presence in four cities.

Portea provides in-home medical care, including general primary health care, post-hospitalisation care and chronic disease management, among others. It offers home visits from doctors, nurses, nursing attendants and physiotherapists. It also provides collection of lab samples and medical equipment on hire, bringing the entire gamut of health care services to a patient’s doorstep. It operates across 24 cities and manages about 60,000 visits in a month to patients’ homes.

It had received $9 million in Series-A funding from Accel, Qualcomm Ventures and Ventureast in December 2013.

The company has more than 40 hospitals as partners, and a network of referring physicians all over India.

Currently, the health care startup space in India has been witnessing a lot of action and is attracting more investments. Another player Practo, a platform for online booking of doctors’ appointments, had in August raised $90 million (Rs 574 crore) in Series-C funding from Sequioa India, Matrix Partners India, Chinese online major Tencent, Belgian investment firm Sofina, Google Capital, Sequoia Capital Global Equities and Russian billionaire Yuri Milner. Last week, it acquired Bengaluru-based  Insta Health Solutions, a hospital information management solution. The other players in the health care startup space include Qikwell and Credihealth, among others.  

Portea has more than 3,000 staff and plans to recruit about 5,000 over the next 18 months.  “This investment from marquee investors recognizes the rapid strides Portea has made as well as points to our prospects as we build the company into India’s leading consumer health care brand in the coming years,” said Meena Ganesh, managing director and chief executive officer of Portea.

Accel’s portfolio companies include Flipkart, BookMyShow and FreshDesk, among others.

“There is a tremendous need to offer an in-home healthcare option for millions of people in India and other emerging markets,” said Mathew. “Portea’s service actually improves health outcomes for patients because it combines highly trained physicians/nurses and technology, making the health care process more efficient and accessible."

 

business-standard.com