Malaysia-based healthtech startup Naluri Hidup recently announced that it has secured US$1.1 million in a pre-Series A funding round that was led by Duopharma Biotech, a leading pharmaceutical company based in Malaysia; M Venture Partners, an early stage venture investor based in Singapore; and RHL Ventures, a multi-family private investment firm based in Malaysia, in addition to other international and local private investors. The latest round of pre-Series A funding follows the Malaysian startup’s previous US$1.5 million fundraise in July 2019, and brings the total amount of funding raised thus far to over US$3 million. Naluri Hidup was able to accomplish its pre-Series A round of funding despite the prevailing economic slow-down caused by the ongoing global covid-19 pandemic due in part to its active engagement with its investors over the past year, which has allowed the healthtech startup to gain the trust and confidence of its partners and investors.
The freshly acquired funds will allow the healthtech startup to further extend its runway for at least one more year and give it sufficient time to prepare for its subsequent Series A funding round. Dr. Jeremy Ting, co-founder and president of Naluri Hidup, said that the digital health startup has garnered keen interest from several financial and strategic investors for its subsequent round of fundraising, and would therefore like to demonstrate its capability to grow both locally and regionally while at the same time strengthening its track record in the core therapeutic areas of heart diseases, mental health and diabetes.
The Malaysia-based startup has developed its very own proprietary platform called the Naluri App. The health-focused application platform integrates data science and behavioral science together with a smart digital design to provide a comprehensive digital health management program for its users. The digital health management platform is developed with an eye towards managing and improving the health of people who are at risk of chronic illnesses and conditions, including cancer, diabetes, and heart ailments. The Naluri App features professional health coaching which is conducted by professionally qualified medical and healthcare providers such as doctors, psychologists, fitness coaches and other professionals to offer detailed and customized personal coaching via instant messaging on its digital platform. Additionally, the multi-faceted health coaching is complemented by a wide array of digital offerings such as a personalized health planner that helps users to monitor their medication, a food journal enabled by artificial intelligence (AI), and a comprehensive health curriculum.
According to Mayank Parekh, founding partner of M Venture Partners, the investor is starting to see a shifting trend in the digital health scene from transactional telehealth consultations to a model of healthcare that promotes continuous and sustainable care over a longer duration that delivers effective health results. Mayank Parekh added that the venture company is quite impressed with Naluri Hidup’s team of founders and have full confidence in the startup’s ability to build and innovate new digital health solutions.
Naluri Hidup counts among its list of earlier investors such luminaries as 500 Durians, Stanford-Start X Fund and Global Founders Capital. The healthtech startup is a leading regional innovator in the field of digital therapeutics and utilizes software applications and programs to help people manage and treat various chronic medical illnesses and disorders.
