Canadian online pharmacy, PocketPills, has reportedly amassed USD 30 million in a Series B funding round which was led by Telus Ventures, with a contribution from WaterBridge Ventures, valuing the firm at USD 150 million.
The e-pharmacy, founded by Harj Samra, Raj Gulia, and Abhinav Gupta in Vancouver in 2018, caters to a market that is projected to increase to USD 25 billion in the next five years.
Knowledgeable sources claimed that the funds will be used to expand PocketPills' product offerings and expand its reach in Canada.
Raj Gulia, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at PocketPills mentioned that they are committed to making pharmacy accessible, easy, and affordable for everyone.
WaterBridge, which has been an investor of PocketPills since its seed round in 2018, will own about 11% of the business post-money. WaterBridge's new investment is the tenth from its USD 100 million second fund, which is mainly focused on investing in Indian businesses.
Manish Kheterpal, Managing Partner at WaterBridge Ventures reportedly stated that various global SaaS (software-as-a-service) firms have been established in the India-US corridor in recent years, with many of them attaining massive size. PocketPills is a one-of-a-kind DevOps in India for a category-leading B2C business in a vast North American market like Canada, he added.
Rich Osborn, Managing Partner at Telus Venture commented that their investment in digital pharmacy is in line with their goal to use technology to digitally transform Canada's healthcare environment and link the virtual continuum of care to enhance experiences, access, and outcomes for all.
It is to be noted that investor interest and consolidation have increased in the Indian online pharmacy market space. Reliance Industries bought a majority stake in Netmeds for around Rs 620 crore (USD 8,51,44,290) last year.
Similarly, Tata Group is likely to buy 1mg, another e-pharmacy firm, for USD 250 million, sources with relevant information cited.
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