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Healthify raises $20M in fresh capital to drive US expansion

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Healthify, an AI-powered health and fitness app, has announced the closure of its $45 million in financing round, consisting entirely of primary capital. The round was led by existing investors Khosla Venturesand LeapFrog Investments, with new participation from Claypond Capital, the family office of Ranjan Pai.

The fresh capital comes at a time as the firm accelerates its global expansion efforts, with a focus on foraying into the US market and advancing its AI capabilities.

Of the total $45 million raised in this round, the new $20 million in new funding adds to an earlier tranche secured in 2023.

“Our hope is to now make Healthify global. We have some of the highest outcomes-to-cost ratio in the industry, because we built in India, are very AI first, our costs are very low, but our outcomes are proven to be very high. It’s time to take what we’ve done in India and take it global — that’s what we intend to do,” Tushar Vashisht, Co-founder and CEO, Healthify told YourStory

“A vast majority of these spends will be spent on expanding globally, specifically in the US and within that, also specifically in building a really great team,” he added. 

The Singapore-headquartered firm is also enhancing its AI to cater to different languages and cultures across markets. The company’s AI is being fine-tuned to recognise common food items, local dialects, and fitness habits, to ensure that users in the US receive personalised and relevant health guidance.

“With AI, everyone can have a personal nutritionist and health coach to make the right diet and fitness choices on a daily basis. Healthify is already doing this in India, one of the world’s largest consumer markets, and they are now well positioned to bring their offering to the United States,” said Vinod Khosla, Founder, Khosla Ventures. 

Healthify, which has built its platform on top of a 40 million Indian user base, has conducted alpha tests in the US and plans to do a full launch within coming months.  

The company has also integrated AI alongside with human coaches to derive outcomes in behaviour change and weight loss, to attain some of the highest outcome-to-cost ratios worldwide. 

Ranjan Pai, Claypond Capital added, “AI has the potential to exponentially improve health outcomes. Healthify has proven that in India at scale and I wish them all the best as they go global.”

The company is aiming to achieve EBITDA-positive status by the end of the fiscal year.

“We are focused on driving profitability. Before FY25 concludes, we will be generating positive cash flow in India. Profitability has been our core focus,” Vashisht said.

When asked about the company’s valuation, he added, “It’s not less than $100 million and not more than $1 billion—it’s in that zone.”

A recent study by Stanford University has also underscored the notable weight loss achieved through the company’s AI and Human Coach programs. 

Additionally, Healthify was recognised by OpenAI at their recent DevDay event for its efforts in multilingual and multi-modal AI nutrition coaching. 

While the consumer segment remains its primary focus, Healthify also follows a B2B growth strategy by expanding corporate wellness partnerships and exploring collaborations with diagnostics, insurance, and pharmaceutical firms. 

“We expect the biggest growth in the next 5 years to happen from the US — there’s no doubt about that. That’s where we hope to build a multi-hundred dollar business. In the near term, we also expect growth to come from a lot of B2B partnerships in India,” Vashisht explained. 

Vashisht also shared that an IPO isn’t on the horizon just yet, but the company will explore public markets as a funding option once the India business turns profitable.

Formerly known as HealthifyMe, Healthify is an AI-powered health and fitness platform which combines AI with human expertise to offer measurable health outcomes. The platform currently caters to 40 million users across 300+ cities, along with a network of more than 600 coaches to offer personalised guidance on nutrition, fitness, and overall wellness. 

“Healthify has been pioneering the use of AI since 2017, and continues to lead the field in leveraging AI to amplify the impact of its coaches and create better health outcomes for its users. We are thrilled to back the company in this round, to seize the potential of newer and more powerful AI models, which can supercharge their growth and bring them closer to their ambition of touching a billion lives,” said Biju Mohandas, LeapFrog Investments. 





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BrowserStack launches AI-driven Low Code Automation tool

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Software testing platform BrowserStack has rolled out Low Code Automation, a solution to simplify test automation for quality assurance teams, developers, and non-technical users. 

The newly launched solution will address challenges faced by software teams, including manual testing delays and complex automation frameworks, BrowserStack said in a statement. 

While traditional test automation requires coding expertise by often limiting non-technical testers to contribute, this tool allows user—irrespective of their technical background—to create and manage AI-driven automated tests without writing code. Users can also use BrowserStack’s cloud infrastructure for reliable test execution.

“(The AI-powered Low-Code Automation (LCA) simplifies the process of building and maintaining test automation suites compared to traditional tools like Selenium. It reduces the steep learning curve and complexity often associated with automation projects, leading to a quicker return on investment (ROI),” Chintan Doshi, Director of Product Management at BrowserStack, told YourStory

To support development teams worldwide, Low Code Automation speeds up testing cycles, boosts product quality, and enhances user experience by reducing technical barriers. 

“Citizen testers—such as business analysts, product managers, and customer support teams—can easily add validations and create automated tests with the test recorder, without requiring coding skills. This reduces their dependency on developers and QAs and empowers them to actively contribute to testing efforts,” Doshi explained.

Founded in 2011 by Ritesh Arora and Nakul Aggarwal, BrowserStack provides a cloud-based platform for developers to test websites and mobile apps across devices, operating systems, and browsers on demand.

With headquarters in San Francisco and Mumbai, the company has expanded its product line to include over 15 products, of which 10 were launched in the past 18 months.

In August, the Accel-backed firm acquired Berlin-based Bird Eats Bug, an advanced bug-reporting tool. The acquisition aims to address the existing gaps in bug reporting and streamline fragmented testing workflows.





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Flipkart’s delivery arm Instakart reports widening losses, lower revenue in FY24

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Flipkart’s delivery service arm Instakart’s FY24 losses increased multifold to Rs 1718.4 crore, from Rs 324.6 crore in the previous year, hurt by higher expenses and marginally lower revenues. 

The company, which is in the logistics, warehouse, courier and allied services business, clocked an operating revenue of Rs 12,115.3 crore in FY24, 5% lower than Rs 12,787.4 crore it posted a year ago, according to filings made with Toefler. 

During the period, the company’s total expenses increased 6% to Rs 14,149.4 crore, mainly driven by employee benefit and other expenses. 

Logistics services accounted for the majority (about 78%) of Instakart’s total operating revenues, with Rs 9,429.8 crore, marginally lower than what it collected in the previous year.

Warehousing services, which accounted for about 10% of total operating revenues, witnessed a 28.4% drop in revenue, while collection services, which accounted for 12%, remained stable. 

Just a week ago, Flipkart Internet reported a 21% rise in FY24 revenue at Rs 17,907.3 crore helped by rising income from its advertising services.

Flipkart India Ltd, which is Flipkart’s business-to-business (B2B) arm, reported a 26.4% rise in revenue from operations at Rs 70,541.9 crore in FY24. 





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Google Cloud to boost support for early-stage AI startups with new programmes, partnerships

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Google has rolled out a range of programmes and partnerships to accelerate the growth of AI startups In India. The initiatives, announced at an AI Startups Summit in Bengaluru, will support early-stage AI founders in building, scaling, and expanding their customer base through the utilisation of Google Cloud services.

 

The tech giant recently introduced Emerging ISV Partner Springboard—a 12-week programme designed to fuel growth for AI startups. Participants will benefit from hands-on support in creating go-to-market assets, consultations with Google AI experts for product refinement, guidance on technical architecture best practices, and streamlined onboarding to Google Cloud Marketplace. 

“Google is committed to empowering AI startups to drive innovation and growth. These initiatives demonstrate our dedication to providing critical support and resources to early-stage founders, helping them build and scale successful AI-powered businesses,” said Manish Gupta, Senior Director, Research, Google DeepMind. 

During a fireside chat at the Global Google Cloud Summit, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian applauded startups leveraging AI and cloud technology

“At Google Cloud, our mission is to support these pioneers by providing the essential tools, resources, and mentorship they need to thrive. Through strategic partnerships, tailored programs, and advanced infrastructure, we are committed to enabling businesses to scale their impact and drive the next wave of digital transformation,” said Kurian. 

Early-stage founders will receive enhanced support through the Google for Startups Cloud Program, which will offer $200,000 in Google Cloud credits over two years. AI-based startups will receive even greater support, receiving $350,000 in credits to address the demanding computational needs of advanced AI development, the company said in a statement. 

In addition, Google has collaborated with Y Combinator to provide exclusive access to NVIDIA H100 GPUs and Google Cloud TPUs, along with cloud credits, support, and mentorship for its Summer 2024 group of AI-focused startups.

Furthermore, the tech giant is also joining forces with early-stage accelerators and incubators such as 500, StartX, and Berkeley Skydeck to provide early-stage founders with a special package, including Google Cloud credits, expert advice, and technical workshops

Earlier, the California-headquartered firm also announced the launch of Startup School: GenAI, a four-week training programme designed to help startups leverage AI.





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