Goqii Plans To Raise USD 100-150 Million To Expand Business

Goqii, a preventive healthcare platform, is planning to raise $100-$150 million in funding, as the company scales up its India business. Sources told FE talks with investors will be initiated early next year.

In November last year, Goqii had raised an estimated $30-$35 million in funding, led by Japan-based Mitsui & Co. The Series B round of financing reportedly valued the firm at around $100-$125 million. So far, the company has raised a little over $50 million in funding, according to data from Crunchbase.

Goqii did not comment on funding. CEO Vishal Gondal said the company is working on an offline retail strategy. “We will not look at opening our own stores, but explore the possibility of making our wearable (devices) available in large retail stores. We are already available at Croma offline stores,” Gondal told FE.

Founded in 2014, the Menlo Park-based firm that operates out of Mumbai in India makes about 30% of its sales from online channels — wherein consumers directly subscribe to products via e-commerce websites or the Goqii platform – while 70% of its business comes from partnership with companies, an arrangement under which companies purchase products in bulk for employees. Gondal said at present, the firm’s customer base is skewed towards South India. Northern parts of the country, nonetheless, are catching up.

Goqii that sells healthcare devices and operates on a subscription-based model is not looking at introducing advertisements on its platform. Gondal claims Goqii is “delivering a service of value” – giving subscribers access to a personal health coach is what gives it an edge. The firm has close to 7 million subscribers currently and it aims to increase it to 10 million by March 2020.

The company posted a loss of Rs. 27.5 crore on revenues of Rs. 21.3 crore for the year ended March 2019, according to its RoC filings sourced from business intelligence platform Tofler.

“We are going to show at least five-seven times growth in revenue by end of this financial year.” Gondal said. He claims the firm is not “chasing profitability” but is working on growing the business.

As part of expansion, Goqii entered Japan last year. Part of the funding will be used to fuel its overseas business, sources said.-Financial Express