INDIA – Online pharmacy startup Tata 1mg has become India’s 107th unicorn after raising close to US$40 million in a funding round led by Tata Digital.
The other participants in the round were KWE Beteiligungen AG, HBM Healthcare Investments, among others, according to a regulatory filing.
The Gurugram-headquartered e-pharmacy and telemedicine startup was valued at US$1.09 billion in the funding round.
Tata Digital infused around US$32 million in the latest round in exchange for 24,711 equity shares of Tata 1mg.
With this investment, Tata Digital now has three unicorn startups under its belt – Big Basket, CultFit, and Tata 1mg.
Tata 1mg joins four other health tech startups namely, PharmEasy, Innovaccer, Curefit, and Pristyn Care in the coveted unicorn club.
Also, 1mg has become the country’s 107th unicorn after logistics start-up Shiprocket entered the unicorn club last month.
In June 2021, Tata Digital acquired a majority stake in 1mg. Though the deal amount was not disclosed, it is said that Tata Digital acquired nearly 62% stake in the online pharmacy start-up.
In March this year, 1mg invested in diagnostic firm 5C Network.
The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated innovation in the health-tech sector. India’s health tech market is anticipated to touch US$21 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 26%.
While investing in 1mg, Tata Digital had said that e-pharmacy, e-diagnostics, and teleconsultation are critical segments and have been among the fastest-growing segments in this space.
Founded in 2015 by Prashant Tandon, Vikas Chauhan, and Gaurav Aggarwal, 1mg delivers medicines and other health products to over 1,800 cities across the country.
Apart from selling to consumers directly, 1mg also targets corporates, OPD in insurance, and patient support programs in partnership with pharma companies.
At present, 1mg claims to deliver 31 million orders a month across 20,000 pin codes in the country.
The pandemic has accelerated innovation in the health-tech sector. India’s health tech market is anticipated to touch US$21 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 26%.
The telemedicine and online pharmacy subsectors are expected to provide a market opportunity of US$5.4 billion and US$4.2 billion by 2025, respectively.
The new funding comes at a time when 1mg rival PharmEasy is also looking to raise a new round after canceling its plans for an initial public offering. Reliance-owned Netmeds is another rival for 1mg besides Apollo.
The recent fundraising will allow the company to ramp up its play against competition coming from Reliance’s Netmed, Apollo, and PharmEasy, which has been going through a rough patch.
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