A multitude of brands, ranging from chocolate and jewellery to health insurance and tourism, have leveraged Amitabh Bachchan’s star power. Taking a leaf out of their books is Bengaluru-based healthtech startup MediBuddy, which appointed appointed ET Medibuddy ropes in Big B Read more the veteran Indian actor as its brand ambassador earlier this year. The largely corporate business-to-business (B2B) healthtech company is turning its focus to the business-to-customer (B2C) segment, especially the rural space. And it’s relying on Bachchan’s reassuring next-door neighbour uncle persona—among other things—to help it get its foot into the door to a crowded segment.
In July, MediBuddy announced its acquisition of a little-known Hyderabad-based startup called Clinix, an online-consultation platform catering to over 20 tier-2 cities and towns. The Ken has learnt that MediBuddy paid close to Rs 1.2 crore ($152,905) for the buyout. “It was more of an acquihire, rather than an acquisition. Clinix has only eight employees on board,” said an investor in MediBuddy.
Small change for a company that’s reportedly sitting on a pile of cash. In February, the company raised raised ET Medibuddy fund raise Read more $125 million in a Series C funding round led by Lightrock India and Quadria Capital. According to calculations run by The Ken, MediBuddy’s valuation grew 2.5X to $418 million between November 2020 and February 2022.
The Clinix acquisition, despite being small, opens up a route to a relatively less crowded rural market. MediBuddy aggregates doctor consults, lab tests, medicine delivery, and lately even surgeries surgeries Medical Dialogues Medibuddy launches surgery Read more , online. But most of this has been in the B2B realm so far—over 60% of the company’s revenues come from its 600-plus corporate clients, including tech companies like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and IBM India and financial services firms like Deloitte and JP Morgan.
The company, which was spun off in 2020 from parent company Medi Assist Medi Assist The Ken India's largest TPA muddle Read more , a third-party administrator, before its acquisition by DocsApp, caters to over one million paid users on its platform every month, according to its chief executive officer (CEO), Sathish Kannan. At the heart of its B2B operations is its software system that customises and automates workflows for providing end-to-end healthcare assistance for its corporate clients.
