China-based internet company Tencent is among the investors to have provided $1.2m in ‘philanthropic’ seed funding for Watsi, a US-based health crowdfunding platform.
The round was also supported by startup accelerator Y Combinator, social investment fund Jasmine Social Investments, venture philanthropy fund Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, tech investment fund Inno Spring and private investors including Ron Conway and Vinod Khosla.
Watsi enables its users to donate money for low-cost medical treatment to needy people in developing nations. Donors can see patients’ profiles and fund their treatment if they so wish.
The platform, created in 2012 by Chase Adam, is working to achieve financial sustainability and will use the funding to support its operations.