NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Indian rural healthcare startup Karma Healthcare has raised an undisclosed amount in pre-series A round from impact fund Ankur Capital and an unnamed international VC firm.

The company runs clinics in the rural areas of desert state Rajasthan. It gives villagers access to specialized doctors through telemedicine as well as direct face-to-face consultations. It uses tablet computers, printers, power-backup systems, and medical devices which can transmit real-time data from patients to doctors located elsewhere.

“The fresh funding will be used to further automate the process which will help scaling up easier,” says Jagdeep Gambhir, founder of Karma Healthcare who currently runs four clinics and is doubling its presence in the state.

In India, good doctors are often practicing in the cities. With Karma, such doctors’ practice can be made accessible to the patients in faraway villages.

Tech in Asia was the first to report about Karma’s work in some of the remotest villages of India.

“We believe that models like Karma have a role to play in unlocking value in the largely untapped rural health space,” Ankur Capital says in a statement.