As part of its pre-Series B funding round, elder care platform Age Care Labs has raised $11 million in fresh capital from fintech unicorn Zerodha’s investment arm Rainmatter Capital and proptech investment firm Gruhas.
“The broader thesis is that the world is ageing; as early as 2040-2050, it appears that India will have an ageing population problem,” Nikhil Kamath, cofounder Gruhas and Zerodha, told VCCircle. “With shifting demographics, the importance of providing comfortable and comprehensive care for our elders cannot be overstated”
“(this) is not just a smart investment, it’s a compassionate one that aligns with the changing dynamics of our society,” he added.
Few angel investors, including Everstone Capital’s Alok Oberoi; former chief executive of Aditya Birla Capital Ajay Srinivasan; president Mastercard Asia Pacific Ari Sarker; Bharti enterprise managing director Rajesh Sud also participated in the round.
Lumis Partners, which anchored Age Labs in 2019 with Saumyajit Roy, invested in this round as well, the company said in a statement.
Age Care Labs offers elders and their families a comprehensive bouquet of benefits across health, hassles, engagement, and emergency support across India under its Emoha brand. It acquired Epoch Elder Care, co-founded by Neha Sinha, which offers elder care homes focused on assisted living and dementia care.
With the fresh funds, Gurugram-based Age Care Labs aims to expand its presence in the country, while investing in its product and technology.
Age Care Labs started with Gurugram, and has since expanded in the national capital region to over 120 towns and cities in the north, going beyond tier I cities.
“The model has now become replicable. It’s quite stabilised,” said Roy, who heads Emoha, adding that there is high demand for such offerings in the country, because it is a specialised form of care.
“The funds specifically are being used for expanding deeper across different parts of the country (including the eastern and western parts) on the Epoch side, as well as to be able to expand the depth and width for Emoha,” he added.
The company says it works on an asset-light model by relying on partnerships. Epoch leases these properties to keep the model asset-light and brings specialised services for chronic conditions, palliative care, basic nursing care, recovery & rehabilitation.
“The idea as we expand is also to become lighter, which means that we take the service to other real estate players or other retirement communities and plugin as a service provider,” said Sinha, chief executive of Epoch Elder Care.