Healthcare startup Smiles.ai has raised $23 million in Series A funding led by Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI). The round also saw participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital India and Chiratae Ventures.
Other investors in the round include MBX Capital, Wami Capital, and angel investors Peyush Bansal and Amit Chaudhary, Co-founders, Lenskart; Aakrit Vaish, Co-founder and CEO, Haptik; Revant Bhate, Co-founder, Mosaic Wellness; Miten Sampat CSO, CRED; and Sambhav Rakhyan, MD, WTW. Smiles.ai marks US-based healthcare-focused fund MBX Capital’s first investment in India.
Smiles.ai will deploy this funding towards expanding its footprint nationally, strengthening the leadership team, and building innovative tech-driven dental care solutions.
“India’s dental care market has remained highly fragmented and without any significant technological disruption for decades. However, now with increasing awareness, increasing disposable income, and rising millennial aspirations, the industry is going through a transition and we are leading this change in India by combining dental care, operations, and technology expertise, ” said Hitesh Kakrani, Co-founder, Smiles.ai.
The Series A funding comes within a year of the company raising a $1 million seed round co-led by Sequoia Capital India and Chiratae Ventures with participation from some reputed angels and family offices. Smiles.AI is also a 100X VC Class 01, 2019 portfolio company.
Speaking on the investment, Anirudh Singh, Managing Director, Alpha Wave Incubation, said, “Given the massive opportunity in the dental care space in India and abroad, we were very impressed with the Smiles.ai’s approach in establishing a comprehensive offline base of dentists and building an aligners business on top of that.
“Using technology as a key driver and differentiator, Smiles is poised to disrupt the market and establish itself as a market leader while maintaining its capital efficiency. Lastly, we believe the opportunity here is global and we will work with the company to take them to other markets such as the Middle East and North Africa.”
Growing market
Smiles.ai was founded in 2019 by Hitesh Kakrani and Dr Jatin Kakrani. The startup leverages proprietary technology and expert healthcare professionals to provide access to high-quality and cost-effective dental care products and services.
The platform offers a range of services through online consultation, clinic networks, and at-home services. With over 100+ specialist doctors, Smiles.ai serves over 3,000+ patients and conducts 5,000+ diagnoses every month, across Bangalore, Delhi-NCR, Pune, and Indore.
