Doctor Anywhere, an online startup that provides healthcare services through multiple channels, announced today that it raised $88 million SGD (roughly $65.7 million USD) in Series C funding. Asia Partners led the round, which also included participation from Philips, Novo Holdings and OSK–SBI Partners. It also included EDBI and Square Peg as well as IHH Healthcare, Kamet Capital, Pavilion Capital, and Kamet Capital, which were all returning investors.
Asia Partners co-founder Oliver Rippel, and Novo Holdings Equity Asia senior partners Dr. Amitkakar will be joining Doctor Anywheres board. It claims that the company's Series C raises more than $140m SGD.
Doctor Anywhere's multichannel approach to healthcare means that it offers online consultations as well as in-person visits and medication delivery. It also has an in-app marketplace where you can purchase health and wellness products.
Doctor Anywhere was founded in 2017 by Lim Wai, and claims to now serve more than 1.5 million users. It's available in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand as well as Vietnam, Vietnam, the Philippines and newly established tech hubs in Bangalore, Ho Chi Minh City.
Lim shared with TechCrunch via email that he was aware of successful telemedicine platforms in China, the United Kingdom, and the United States when he began working on Doctor Anywhere. However, the model was still in its infancy in Southeast Asia. Lim, a former investor, started Doctor Anywhere because he couldn't leave his home for medical visits.
Lim stated that Doctor Anywhere was initially an online-only telehealth platform. However, we soon realized the importance of physical presence to establish trust with our users. The company launched its physical clinics and home care services.
Doctor Anywheres estimates that the COVID-19 epidemic accelerated the adoption of telehealth services throughout Southeast Asia by at most five years. There was more demand for online medical consultations and medication delivery, as well as marketplace purchases.
Lim stated that we have nearly doubled our network's size in the last year. We went from having around 1,000 providers at 2020 to now having close to 2,500 doctors across Southeast Asia.
Doctor Anywhere created an online COVID-19 Medical Advisory clinic last year in response to the pandemic. It provides on-demand consultations to people who have suspected symptoms. It also established an online module for mental wellness with psychologists. Lim stated that the company has experienced an increase in mental health-related services like anxiety and insomnia.
WhiteCoat and Speedoc are other telehealth startups located in the region. Lim stated that Doctor Anywhere wants to be different by responding quickly to user inquiries and balancing technology and human touch.
This funding will be used for Doctor Anywhere's expansion into new markets and to strengthen its presence in existing markets. It plans to expand its tech infrastructure and big-data capabilities for an improved online-to-offline user experience. The company will also introduce new medical specialty modules, reduce medication delivery times, and create personalized healthcare plans.
