IDG Ventures India has reinvested in India ophthalmic technology and solutions company Forus Health. The round is valued at $8.2m (Rs 50 crore) and was led by Asian Healthcare Fund, an India growth-stage, healthcare focused, private-equity fund that invests exclusively into India’s healthcare and life sciences sectors. Accel Partners has also invested. Unitus Capital was the sole advisor to Forus for the transaction.
Forus’ flagship product 3nethra is an affordable, rugged and portable eye screening device that can screen a patient in less than 5 minutes for common eye problems. Its devices are integrated with a unique cloud-hosted telemedicine application ‘Foruscare’, offering a complete eye care solution platform.
With an extremely low ophthalmologist-to-patient ratio in India, 3nethra has been designed so that it can be operated by a minimally-trained technician, and can be deployed in remote areas, exponentially improving access to quality ophthalmic care.
The company was founded in 2010 by Dr. Shyam Vasudeva Rao and K. Chandrasekhar. Dr. Shyam was previously the Director Technology at Philips Healthcare and Chandrasekhar was previously the Director Strategy at NXP Semiconductors.
Due to its ease of use and superior technical and imaging capabilities, the device has had more than 220 installations across 14 countries to date and has since screened 600,000 eyes worldwide.
“3Nethra is a cutting-edge product that can address 1/3rd of the world’s population that needs affordable eye testing. With their deep technology background and great execution, Forus has achieved widespread traction internationally. We are excited to partner with Forus on this journey and their success,” said Anand Daniel, Principal, Accel Partners.
“We believe Forus’ pre-screening technology has the potential to be a game-changer in addressing the issues relating to preventive healthcare globally. As an early investor in Forus, we are very happy to see the company scale from strength to strength and we remain committed to their chosen growth path,” said Ranjith Menon, Senior Vice President of IDG Ventures India (pictured).
In April 2012, the company raised $5m in a series A round from Accel Partners and IDG Ventures India.