Curefit raises $120 million in round led by IDG, Accel

BENGALURU : In the biggest ever fund raise by an Indian healthcare start-up, Curefit Healthcare Pvt. Ltd closed a $120 million round of funding, led by existing investors IDG Ventures, Accel Partners and Kalaari Capital, to help accelerate the expansion of its fitness chain, food brand and clinics.

New investors Accel Partners US and Oaktree Capital also participated in the latest funding round, which confirms the view that funding for internet startups has picked up in a big way this year following two years of poor investment activity.

The company will use the fresh capital to expand its offline footprint to 1,000 centres from 80 centres within three years, co-founder Ankit Nagori, said in an interview.

By 2022, Cult, the non-equipment fitness chain, will have 500 centres, with the rest comprising its food brand Eat.fit, clinic chain Care.fit and yoga and meditation chain Mind.fit.

It will also invest heavily in building tech products on its supply side, buy companies and introduce hardware products like glucometers, weighing scales, fitness wearables.

“This business will require a lot of runway because we are building a category. Although we are cash-flow positive at the GP (gross profit) level, having lots of capital will allow us to focus on building the product with a longterm perspective. The funding is a testimony of the product we’ve built. There’s a lot of buzz about the brand,” Nagori said, adding that the company will expand to 10 cities from three cities. He added that the company was also planning to expand to international markets in Southeast Asia and West Asia.