Practo raises Rs 574-cr from Tencent, Google Capital, others

Healthcare platform Practo today said it has raised USD 90 million (around Rs 574 crore) from a group of investors, including Tencent, Google Capital and Sequoia India.
The Series C round also saw participation from Sofina, Altimeter Capital, Matrix Partners, Sequoia Capital Global Equities and Yuri Milner.
"The funding will be used to strengthen our teams, platform and also expand our international presence in South East Asia, Laatin America and Middle East," Practo founder and CEO Shashank ND told PTI.
The funding comes a few months after the company closed a USD 30 million Series B round from Sequoia India and Matrix Partners.

It has, so far, raised USD 125 million, one of the largest funding in the digital health space.
Practo's platform allows users to search and connect with doctors, hospitals and diagnostics centres. It also has an offering for healthcare practitioners.

"Over the past six months, Practo has grown over six times to become one of the fastest growing healthcare platforms in the world with nearly 2,00,000 healthcare practitioners on it and over 10 million monthly searches by consumers looking to make the right healthcare choices," Shashank said.
Over the next 3-6 months, Practo will expand product lines and also look for acquisitions to expand into key healthcare segments providing seamless experience across medicine, wellness and fitness, he added.

With presence in India, Philippines and Singapore, Practo has a team of 1,500 employees and is looking at doubling the number in the coming year.
"We aim to expand from the current 35 Indian cities and three countries to over 100 Indian cities and 10 countries across South east Asia, Latin America, Middle East and Eastern Europe," he said.
The focus is on building a single health app that helps people live healthier by making better healthcare decisions for themselves, he added.