Global venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners has backed a group of experienced doctors to start a new healthcare platform focused on in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Pluro Fertility and IVF has raised \u20b9125 crore of Series A funding, valuing the new company at \u20b91,000 crore. This deal plays into the theme where most risk investors are increasingly scouting for investments in single-speciality healthcare firms.<\/p>\n
Founded this year by Dr. Jaydeep Tank, Dr. Parikshit Tank, and Dr. Bhaskar Shah, Pluro aims to partner with independent IVF specialists across India through a clinical partnership model. Through this model, the company will manage all non-clinical functions across partner clinics, including practice management, technology, compliance and marketing. The platform provides each partner doctor with equity participation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe plan to have 25 fertility centres pan-India by March 2026, each in partnership with a fertility<\/a> specialist with at least a decade of clinical expertise,\u201d said Dr. Jaydeep Tank.<\/p>\n Also Read | India has seen an explosion of fertility startups. What\u2019s next?<\/a><\/p>\n Pluro plans to establish a pan-India presence with over 100 clinics within three years. The platform will use the fresh capital to expand its network presence, invest in technology, and deepen clinical capabilities in advanced reproductive science, the company said.<\/p>\n Asked whether the IVF market is already crowded, Dr. Tank said there is a huge need for a player who understands and serves patients differently.<\/p>\n Technology is likely to be a key driving factor for the new startup amidst heightened competition from several incumbent players such as Indira IVF<\/a> and Nova IVF Fertility, both of which have a large number of centres across the country. Other chains with a sizeable presence in India are Apollo Fertility, Fortis La Femme, and ART Fertility Clinics. Between these chains and the unorganised ones, there are around 6,000 IVF clinics in India as on date.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have developed a fundamentally very different model where doctors come together with us to actually co-create a partner and participate both in the benefits of infrastructure, tech, and background work. I think this is a great opportunity for doctors to translate their entrepreneurship into scale,\u201d Dr. Tank said.<\/p>\n Changing tack<\/p>\n For Bessemer, which has in the past backed single-speciality healthcare companies such as Nephroplus, there is immense value to be created in the single-speciality segment.<\/p>\n Bessemer backed Nephroplus in 2013.<\/p>\n Also Read | Bessemer chases AI startup that could disrupt India\u2019s IT sector<\/a><\/p>\n Nithin Kaimal, partner and chief operating officer at Bessemer Venture Partners India, believes that the IVF segment is also likely to experience secular growth going forward.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is sort of an underserved market. While the metros and the large cities have a significant amount of penetration, the tier II, III, and IV markets still have a long way to go in terms of high-quality fertility care,\u201d Kaimal told Mint, adding that, of the 6,000 IVF clinics in India, only 10% are part of organised chains. \u201cThere is a huge opportunity out there to create an organised play here.\u201d<\/p>\n Interestingly, Dr. Bhaskar Shah, a renowned cardiologist in central Mumbai, is the father of Pharmeasy cofounder Siddharth Shah. As per a release from Pluro, angel investors such as Vikram Chhatwal (MediAssist), Dharmil Sheth and Hardik Dedhia (PharmEasy\/All Home), Salil Musale (Astarc Ventures), Shalibhadra Shah and Niket Shah (Motilal Oswal), and Karan Kapur (K Hospitality), also participated in this round.<\/p>\n As per a research report by the IMARC Group, a consulting firm, the India IVF market size reached $864.6 million in 2024. Looking forward, the market is expected to reach $3.4 billion (in revenues) by 2033, exhibiting a growth rate of 15.4% during 2025-2033. \u201cThe increasing awareness and acceptance of infertility as a medical condition, delayed parenthood, rapid technological advancements in healthcare infrastructures, and expanding medical tourism<\/a> are some of the key factors driving the growth of the market,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n