Lybrate receives $10.2 mn funding from Tiger Global, Ratan Tata

NEW DELHI: Lybrate, a medical platform in the country that enables patients to communicate anonymously with doctors via a mobile app or online from anywhere and anytime, has received $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 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, said: "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."

He said: "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 it.

"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 companyis poised to gain ground rapidlyas thepenetration of Internet services and smartphones surge,” said Lee Fixel, partner, Tiger Global.