Jio Health raises $20 mln in series B round

Vietnam-based healthcare startup Jio Health has successfully raised $20 million in the second round of funding.

The fundraising round was led by Singapore-based investor Heritas Capita. Fuchsia Ventures, Kasikorn Bank Group, and Monk’s Hills Ventures are other investors, according to a corporate release.

This is the largest fundraiser in the company’s history so far. Jio Health said it will leverage the investment to extend its smart clinic outlets and multi-channel ecosystem across Vietnam, its primary market. This expansion also lays a solid foundation for the firm to enter the regional market in the coming years.

“We’re excited to welcome major investors to join us in our mission to become a leading healthcare company in Vietnam and across Southeast Asia. We will boldly invest in expanding facilities around the country, as well as improving our digital and medical capabilities shortly,” Jio Health CEO and founder, Raghu Rai said.

Chik Wai Chiew, CEO of Heritas Capital, stated: “Jio Health is developing a unique healthcare model with a combination of online and in-person services to care for patients throughout their journey, from health to treatment and post-treatment recovery”.

Jio Health’s vertically integrated consumer healthcare value chain allows it to provide high-quality care at an affordable price wherever consumers need it, the company claimed.

Its technologies include telemedicine, electronic prescriptions, digital medical records, and machine learning to support clinical decisions. In addition to online services, Jio Health ecosystem also integrates smart clinics and on-demand home care services through a network of more than 300 pharmacies.

“The series B funding will accelerate our consumer healthcare ecosystem’s growth and enhance its reach, impact, and affordability,” Rai said.

Previously, Jio Health successfully raised $5 million in the series A round led by investor Monk’s Hill Venture in 2019.

Vietnam's healthcare industry has seen a surge in international investment in recent years. The greatest investment was made by a consortium of investors led by GIC, which invested more than $203 million in VMC Holding, which develops and operates the Vinmec hospital system. Vingroup (VIC), Vietnam’s biggest listed company by market cap, remains the controlling shareholder of VMC following the deal.

Vinmec is operating a world-standard private medical system, with a network of seven hospitals and five clinics across the country. Vingroup’s medical revenue surpassed VND3,000 billion ($131 million) in 2019.

Vingroup stated that it will continue to reinvest all earnings from the Vinmec system to further improve the health system, according to its previous commitment as a non-profit in this field.

In addition to Vinmec’s success, Con Cung, Vietnam’s largest and fastest-growing mom and baby retail network, announced early this year that it had received a $90 million investment from Quadria Capital, Asia's leading healthcare investment firm.

In 2021, the Singapore-based ABC World Asia led a $24 million series B round in Kim Dental - one of Vietnam’s leading dental system operators. This was followed by SK Group, one of South Korea’s largest conglomerates, which planned to invest up to $100 million in Pharmacity, Vietnam's largest pharmacy retail chain.

Also last year, Nhi Dong 315, a pediatric clinic operator based in Ho Chi Minh City, completed a series A fundraising round with BDA Capital Partners. However, the size of the deal was not disclosed.