W Health Ventures Raises Rs 700 Crore in Second Fund, Plans Investments in 8-10 Healthcare Companies

Summary:
W Health Ventures has closed its second fund at Rs 700 crore, exceeding its Rs 630-crore target, to build 8-10 healthcare companies across India and the India-US corridor over the next four years. The firm uses a venture-building model in which its team identifies healthcare gaps, validates opportunities for 12-18 months and typically invests Rs 30-50 crore per company. Its second fund has already created Everhope Oncology and Everbright Health, while its portfolio companies have collectively reached 25 million patients. 

W Health Ventures has raised Rs 700 crore through the closure of its second fund, surpassing its original target of Rs 630 crore. The healthcare-focused venture capital firm plans to use the fund to create a new portfolio of companies across India and the India-US healthcare corridor.

Over the next four years, the fund aims to establish 8-10 companies, following a venture-building approach rather than limiting its investments to startups that are already operating.

The firm said its internal team of doctors, industry operators and technology professionals identifies underserved areas within healthcare delivery. Opportunities are then evaluated and tested for 12-18 months before a founding team is brought on board to establish the business.

Under this model, W Health Ventures generally commits Rs 30-50 crore to each company and targets the creation of two to three businesses annually.

According to the firm, this strategy is particularly suited to healthcare segments where traditional startup approaches can face challenges due to complicated clinical, regulatory and operational requirements.

“India is at an inflection point in healthcare as the rising demand and constrained supply create a structural mismatch,” said W Health Ventures managing partner Dr Pankaj Jethwani.

“What keeps most people away isn’t the opportunity, it’s how hard healthcare is to build in. We think that is precisely where the value is.”

The firm’s second fund has already resulted in the creation of two companies — Everhope Oncology and Everbright Health.

Everhope Oncology, developed in collaboration with Narayana Health, focuses on delivering coordinated and patient-centric oncology care. Everbright Health, meanwhile, is working on advanced treatments for depression that has not responded to existing therapies in the US.

W Health Ventures said both businesses achieved scale within a few months of launching.

The second fund will continue to identify and develop opportunities across India as well as within the India-US healthcare corridor.

Jethwani said the firm’s strategy differs from the conventional Silicon Valley model of building startups, as it concentrates on healthcare areas facing significant structural shortcomings.

“We go to the parts of the healthcare system where the structural mismatch is the highest, and we stay with that problem for a year, sometimes longer, chipping away at it before we build anything,” he said.

W Health Ventures said companies across its portfolio have collectively reached 25 million patients so far.

Established in 2020, the firm operates from offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi and Boston in the US. Its portfolio includes Elevate Now, Nivaan, Hoola Health, formerly known as BabyMD, and Everhope Oncology.

The firm called the Rs 700-crore fund closure a significant milestone, particularly because several limited partners from the healthcare ecosystem participated in the fundraising.