Rio Health raises $4.5 mn in pre-Series A led by Version One Ventures

The quick commerce platform plans to expand its Delhi-NCR network from three to over 15 dark stores and target an annual run rate of more than Rs 150 crore

Rio Health, a quick commerce platform for medicines and healthcare essentials, on Thursday said it has raised $4.5 million (Rs 43.08 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round led by Version One Ventures. Existing investors Xeed Ventures, Good Capital and Amplify also participated in the fully closed, all-equity round.

 

The company plans to use the fresh funds to expand its presence across Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region), grow its network from three to more than 15 dark stores, and strengthen the technology behind its ordering, inventory and delivery operations. The company is targeting an annual run rate of more than Rs 150 crore over the next nine to 12 months.

 

 

Prior to this round, Rio Health had raised Rs 19.16 crore across earlier rounds. The latest investment takes the company’s total funding to Rs 62.24 crore.

 

Rio Health currently processes more than 30,000 orders a month, with an average order value ranging between Rs 600 and Rs 700, and nearly 80 per cent of its orders come from repeat customers.

 

Founded by Ankur Agrawal and Amit Ahuja, Rio Health delivers medicines and healthcare essentials across Delhi-NCR in 20-30 minutes. Customers can order by speaking or typing in Hindi, English or Hinglish, or by uploading a photograph of a prescription. Rio Health’s AI-led system identifies the prescribed products and creates the order, which is then checked by a licensed pharmacist.

 

Each Rio Health dark store serves a radius of approximately three kilometres. The company uses neighbourhood-level demand data to forecast which medicines are likely to be required in each area and stock its stores accordingly. Rio Health offers more than 20,000 stock-keeping units, while long-tail medicines can be sourced through its distributor network.

 

Commenting on the fundraise, Ankur Agrawal, founder of Rio Health, said that pharmacy is one of the clearest use cases for quick commerce. “Yet medicine delivery still forces customers to choose between speed and availability. We are building Rio Health to solve both. This funding will help us strengthen our technology, improve how we predict neighbourhood-level demand, and make reliable medicine delivery available to many more customers across Delhi-NCR.”

 

Boris Wertz, partner at Version One, said, “India’s pharmacy market is well suited to quick commerce, but solving it requires more than fast delivery. It requires a wide assortment, accurate local demand planning and strong operational controls. Rio Health has shown encouraging traction, repeat usage and capital discipline through its first three dark stores.”