Practo raises $90 million from China's Tencent

BEIJING: Online healthcare service provider Practo Technologies Pvt. Ltd said it raised $90 million (around Rs.580 crore) from a clutch of investors led by China's Tencent to increase its lead in the doctor discovery business and accelerate its international expansion.

Apart from Tencent, other new investors in the round include Sofina, Sequoia Capital Global Equities, Google Capital, Altimeter Capital and Yuri Milner, founder of Russian venture capital firm DST Global. Practo's existing investors Sequoia India and Matrix Partners also participated in the round. Practo said it will use the funds to launch new products and expand into more international markets. It is currently available in the Philippines and Singapore, apart from India. In February, Practo raised $30 million from Sequoia India and Matrix Partners. The company has raised $125 million since its launch in 2008.

Practo said it facilitates 10 million searches every month. There are more than 200,000 doctors, 5,000 diagnostic centres and 8,000 hospitals on its platform. "We look for ambitious, visionary Internet companies that are improving people's lives at a global scale. Practo is a digital healthcare leader and one of the fastest growing healthcare companies in India. We look forward to working with the Practo team as the company transforms healthcare in India and international markets," said Hongwei Chen, senior director of investment and M&A at Tencent. Practo was raising a new round of funds from Tencent and others, Mint reported on 4 August, and that the company is in talks to buy smaller rival Qikwell Technologies India Pvt. Ltd.