BANGALORE, India, January 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
Bangalore-based affordable ophthalmic technology and solutions company Forus Health Pvt. Ltd. (Forus) has successfully raised Series B funding of Rs 50 crore in a round led by Asian Healthcare Fund. Accel Partners and IDG Ventures India, the existing investors, also participated. Unitus Capital was the sole advisor to Forus for the transaction.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140109/662862 )
Forus was founded in 2010 by Dr. Shyam Vasudeva Rao and K. Chandrasekhar with a mission to address healthcare delivery issues through innovative and inclusive product design, and service deployment. Dr. Shyam was previously the Director Technology at Philips Healthcare and Chandrasekhar was previously the Director Strategy at NXP Semiconductors.
Forus' flagship product, 3nethra, is an integrated, intelligent, affordable, rugged and portable eye screening device that can screen a patient in less than 5 minutes for common eye problems. These devices are integrated with a unique cloud hosted telemedicine application called Foruscare, offering a complete eye care solution platform.
With an extremely low ophthalmologist to patient ratio in India, 3nethra has been designed so that it can be operated by a minimally trained technician, and can be deployed in remote areas, exponentially improving access to quality ophthalmic care. Due to its ease of use and superior technical and imaging capabilities, the device has gained extensive recognition within the Indian ophthalmic community and has also received widespread traction globally, with more than 220 installations across 14 countries till date and has since screened 600,000 eyes worldwide.
"Forus aims to help 20mn people in the next three years by revolutionizing healthcare delivery, adopting a prevention-centric approach and democratizing screening," said Dr. Shyam Vasudeva Rao, the President and CTO of Forus.
"Acceptance from the ophthalmic fraternity and encouragement from our marquee investors motivate us to strive towards fulfilling Forus' mission. This investment will be crucial in helping us achieve scale through strengthening our supply chain and sales networks, as well as developing new products," K. Chandrasekhar, the CEO of Forus, stated.
"3Nethra is a cutting-edge product that can address 1/3rd of the world's population that needs affordable eye testing. With their deep technology background and great execution, Forus has achieved widespread traction internationally. We are excited to partner with Forus on this journey and their success," said Anand Daniel, Principal, Accel Partners.
Ajay Kumar Vij, CEO, AHF said on the occasion, "We have been impressed with the unique value proposition and management depth of Forus as well as the social impact created by their product 3nethra. We look forward to partner with K. Chandrasekhar, Dr. Shyam V. Rao and their team in their journey of building a leading player in the medical devices space in India and globally."
"We believe Forus' pre-screening technology has the potential to be a game-changer in addressing the issues relating to preventive healthcare globally. As early investor in Forus, we are very happy to see the company scale from strength to strength and we remain committed to their chosen growth path," said Ranjith Menon, Senior Vice President of IDG Ventures India.
About Forus Health:
Forus Health Pvt. Ltd. (Forus) is a technology-led innovation company focused on preventive ophthalmic care. Its flagship products, 3nethra Classic and 3nethra Royal, can pre-screen for five ophthalmic ailments which collectively contribute to nearly 90% of the in blindness in India. Forus has seen widespread traction across the global and domestic ophthalmic community, with device installations in 14 countries across the globe.
About Accel Partners:
Founded in 1983, Accel Partners has a long history of partnering with outstanding entrepreneurs and management teams to build world-class businesses. Accel today invests globally using dedicated teams in Palo Alto, California, New York City, London and Bangalore, as well as in China via its partnership with IDG-Accel. Accel has helped entrepreneurs build over 300 category defining companies worldwide. In India, Accel has made investments in companies such as Ace Creative Learning, Babyoye, Collectabillia, enStage, Flipkart, FreshDesk, Forus Health, HealthcareMagic, Kirusa, Mitra, MuSigma, Myntra, Perfint, Power2SME, Probe, PropTiger, QwikCilver, SureWaves, TaxiForSure, Trivone, Vinculum and Virident.
http://www.facebook.com/accel.
About Asian Healthcare Fund:
Asian Healthcare Fund (AHF) is a New Delhi based growth-stage, healthcare focused, private-equity fund that invests exclusively into India's healthcare and life sciences sectors. AHF was founded in 2010 on the principle that healthcare as a sector is unique in terms of its investment and management complexities and requires a specialized approach. AHF invests across India's healthcare sector, and is focused on companies that are into direct healthcare delivery, indirect healthcare services, medical devices and equipment, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, R & D services. One of the unique differentiators AHF is its strong team consisting of experienced professionals with diverse & complementary backgrounds. Specifically two senior members of the team have each spent 25 years plus building & scaling up differentiated businesses in the healthcare / consumer industry leading to a deep domain expertise in healthcare, strong business building & operational skillsets and understanding of entrepreneurial mindsets. Other two members of the team have the experience of Private Equity investing in India over multiple economic cycles in India & global markets.
Existing investments by AHF include Mydentist and Healthspring.
http://www.asianhealthcarefund.com.
About IDG Ventures India:
IDG Ventures India is a leading technology venture capital fund in India. The fund is part of IDG Ventures, a global network of technology venture funds with more than $5.5 billion under management, over 220 investee companies and 10 offices across Asia and North America. By combining the IDG platform - an unparalleled combination of global publishing, market research (IDC), conferences and exhibition resources - with years of hands-on experience in early-stage company building, IDG Ventures India helps its investee companies understand their markets better and achieve leadership position ahead of competition. The IDG Ventures India portfolio companies include Apalya, Aujas Networks, eShakti, Forus Health, iCreate, iProf, Manthan Systems, Myntra, Ozone Media, Perfint, Sourcebits, Valyoo Technologies, Vserv and Zivame.
Contact:
Mr K Chandrashekhar
Tel: +91(80)4162-4041
knock@forushealth.com
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