Goqii, the wearable devices startup which manufactures a wearable fitness tracker accompanied by a personal coach, has received its first major investment from a corporate house, reports Economic Times.
While the amount of investment has not been revealed, it is believed that Edelweiss has invested in the company at a valuation of around Rs. 300-400 crore ($44 Million-$55 Million).
This investment has flushed in from the venture capital arm of Mumbai-based Edelweiss. GOQii however, isn’t pegging this as just monetary contribution. The startup sees Edelweiss as a ‘strategic partner’ and will look to capitalise on the health insurance customer base of Edelweiss along with the clientele of other arms of the private banking firm.
With the newly infused capital, Goqii will now utilize money to expand its operations to various other countries, including US and Canada. It will also expand in to different business segments and develop new technologies.
Pranav Parikh, Head of Edelweiss’s VC arm, said,
GOQii provides lifestyle coaching, which is not tied to any particular band and offers virtual delivery of health services. The health industry is undergoing tremendous change and technology can drive huge efficiencies is areas such as diagnostics that can aid in better delivery of products such as health insurance.
The company was founded in 2014 by Vishal Gondal. In November 2015, the company had raised $13.5 million in its Series A round of funding from New Enterprise Associates, Cheetah Mobiles and GWC.
Prior to its Series A round of funding, the company had raised angel funding from Whatsapp’s Neeraj Arora; AWS’ Marco Argenti; PayTM’s Vijay Sharma among others.
GOQii integrates the ‘human factor’ in form of a personal coach. A GOQii personal coach works with the user’s data to provide customized advice on a regular basis, and keeps the user motivated and on track to success by goal reinforcement. This approach differentiates GOQii from existing apps, wearable gadgets and online solutions.
Earlier, the company was focusing on the end consumers. But, from this year, it has shifted its focus towards enterprise customers and the wellness programmes they run for their employees. Conglomerates such as Mahindra and Mahindra and Hindustan Unilever along with firms such as TSC, Wipro Target are already using GOQii.
According to a report, the wearable-tech business is speculated to reach from $20 billion in 2015 to almost $70 billion in 2025. The dominant sector will remain the healthcare sector which merges medical, fitness and wellness.
