The company plans to utilize Series A funding to recruit talent, enhance technology & scale operations
New Delhi, Jul 8, 2015: Lybrate, Inc., India’s first and largest healthcare communication and delivery platform, today announced that it has secured $10.2 million in Series A funding from Tiger Global Management, Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, and existing investor Nexus Venture Partners.
Lybrate, the only medical platform in the country that enables patients to communicate anonymously with doctors via a mobile app or online from anywhere and anytime, plans to utilize the funds to develop products, recruit talent, augment technology and scale operations.
Founded in 2013, Lybrate’s mission is to solve the fundamental problem of healthcare delivery in India, namely inaccessibility of doctors compounded by the gap between supply of and demand for healthcare professionals. By connecting doctors with patients across geographies, Lybrate helps solve the pressing need for medical care in a country with a population of 1.2 billion.
Saurabh Arora, CEO, Lybrate, describes the perplexing experience of witnessing people being diagnosed and treated directly by chemists in India. Identifying the gravity of the potential risks of not having a physician’s input, he took upon himself to find a concrete and reliable solution to the daunting challenge. To give a shape to his futuristic vision, he left his job at Facebook in the U.S. and moved to India to incorporate Lybrate.
“We ignore our health and rush to take a call at delayed stages when the disease has progressed to serious levels. The tendency to consult chemists because of time constraint and inertia to visit a doctor is rampant and lead to risky behavior of self-medication. This is even more aggravated outside metros where accessibility of doctors is itself a challenge. Thus, by connecting doctors to the population and letting them communicate, we are trying to solve the fundamental problem and transform the way healthcare is being delivered in India,” said Saurabh Arora.
The option to remain anonymous, Saurabh said, enables people to talk about health issues, which were hitherto considered a taboo to discuss in public in the country. “We see a significant user engagement on the subjects related to sexual health, women’s health, psychological problems, especially depression, which makes it apparent that people want to have solutions and gain knowledge regarding these, but stay in shell out of embarrassment. Through the Lybrate app, we want every Indian to talk about every possible health issue and take informed decisions.
Since the launch of the Lybrate app in January this year, the company has seen a massive growth with more than 80,000 doctors from various specialties from across India currently connected with its service. With more than half a million downloads in the last five months and over 100,000 patients visiting the platform every day, Lybrate’s popularity has been growing exponentially.
“Lybrate’s concept is ground breaking. We believe it has the potential to revolutionize healthcare delivery in India and script the future of the healthcare industry with its model. The company is poised to gain ground rapidly as the penetration of Internet services and smartphones surge,” said Lee Fixel, partner,Tiger Global. “We are excited to support the company’s unique and innovative efforts.”
Before bringing any doctor on its platform, Lybrate runs a background check to verify medical licenses and credentials. The users can seek multiple opinions from doctors for free on the open platform, or start a one-on-one dialogue privately for a fee with doctors and share text, photo and voice. While interacting on an open platform, the physicians can also endorse answers of other doctors.
“Bringing medical interactions online improves the efficiency of doctor patient interactions. Personalized rich communication via the Lybrate app unburdens doctors and allows them to focus on critical patient care and allows consumers to have expert opinions from multiple doctors. Lybrate’s exponential growth has clearly demonstrated the market need and the power of their solution,” said Sandeep Singhal of Nexus Venture Partners.
In addition, the Lybrate app also has Health Feed in the form of tips being shared by doctors concerning their specialty for any ideal user. Each health tip is categorized under one of the 400 topics and users can choose to receive health tips based on their interest. With this, the company is aiming to encourage the preventive aspect of medicine and ensure longevity.
Lybrate is India’s first and largest healthcare communication and delivery platform. By seamlessly connecting doctors and patients through its first-of-its-kind health app and letting them talk, Lybrate makes healthcare more accessible. It empowers patients to get the right advice at the right time and allows doctors to touch more lives and help them with their extensive knowledge.
Founded by former professionals from Facebook and Snapdeal in 2013, Lybrate’s innovative communication healthcare platform brings patients and doctors closer, bridging the yawning gap between them. A technology-driven platform, Lybrate is India’s number one medical app.
More than 80,000 doctors and health experts from varied branches of medicine from across India are connected to millions of patients through Lybrate. With such strong network, Lybrate acts as the world’s largest online Out Patient Department (OPD).
