Australian online health directory and booking service, HealthEngine, has raised $26.7 million in a Series C funding round, with the funds to be used to add to its product portfolio, expand into other markets, make acquisitions and boost staff numbers.
The fund raising was led by Sequoia India and mark’s its first direct investment in an Australian owned and headquartered tech startup.
The funding round also attracted new investors including private equity fund Alium Capaital and several other high net worth investors. And follow-on investments were received from Go caspital, Carsales.com.au founder Greg Roebuck, and the founders of the Lux Group, one of Australia’s largest e-commerce companies.
HealthEngine enables patients to connect online and make appointments directly with quality health practitioners in their area, which the company says ultimately transforms the way in which Australians access and use healthcare services.
{loadposition peter}HealthEngine claims one million Australians and tens of thousands of practitioners use the platform every month.
HealthEngine Founder, CEO and Medical Director, Dr Marcus Tan, said, “At over $160 billion per annum in expenditure, healthcare is one of Australia’s largest industries making up around 10% of our national GDP. The sector impacts every Australian but has been slow to adopt many of the advances we have become accustomed to in other industries.
“Our goal is to improve the health of all Australians by providing a platform that enables both timely access to quality care and a seamless patient experience.
“When we created HealthEngine, we wanted to break down the frustrations felt from both patients and practitioners trying to navigate the complex health system. We’re empowering patients to access and manage their healthcare through better information and technology. We’re also helping healthcare professionals be more effective and efficient within their practices, which ultimately leads to better care provision.
“This investment announces HealthEngine’s arrival on the global startup scene, hopefully putting us on a similar trajectory to many of Sequoia’s other successes – iconic companies like Apple and Google and more recently startups like Whatsapp, Stripe and Airbnb.”
According to Pieter Kemps, principal at Sequoia India “healthcare is an enormous sector ripe for innovation globally”.
“HealthEngine has done particularly well to become a market leading digital health company in Australia. They have built the foundation of a powerful Health experience platform that improves the lives of patients as well as healthcare practitioners.”