Gytree.com announced its first round of fundraising, led by Biocon’s Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Rainmatter Investments, Ajay Srinivasan former CEO of Aditya Birla Capital, Anubhuti Sharma of San Francisco-based Millie Clinic amongst others.
Gytree.com uses technology to provide women with an intelligent dashboard, world class experts and personalised journeys for better health outcomes.
“We need to build female first products in health and for way too long India has ignored that,” says Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairperson of Biocon, India’s largest biopharmaceutical company. “Gytree.com fills an important gap in using technology to solve for personalised health needs of women through products and services. I am delighted to lend support to Shaili and her team on this purposeful journey.”
Shaili Chopra is an award-winning entrepreneur who earlier set up Asia’s largest platform for women, SheThePeople (backed by Anand Mahindra). The demand for women’s health solutions and gytree.com emerged from within that 20 million strong community. “What Indian women need is a 360-degree approach to care, due to inter-related symptoms and outcomes. India’s current health systems do not provide that. Gytree.com offers a patient-centric team to bridge this gap across all life stages, from menstruation to menopause,” says Chopra.
The data on women’s health shows, a platform like Gytree is the need of our times. Almost 60% of working women in India quit the workforce due to health related issues. According to the National Health Portal of India, more than 32 million women in India suffer from incurable conditions ranging from PCOS to endometriosis, and infertility, and they lack the necessary handholding to manage this effectively. Gytree.com would be the first platform of its kind to provide assistance at every step: symptom identification, timely diagnosis and long-term management.
The Rainmatter Investments team said of their investment in Gytree, “Helping people make healthy choices has been a priority for us at Rainmatter. Of all the health issues in India, the lack of focus on women’s healthcare has to be the biggest. This is why we’re excited to join Shaili and the team as they tackle this pressing issue by building a comprehensive and exclusive healthcare ecosystem for women.”
A new generation of women are demanding better healthcare, and Gytree is answering that call. The platform is built by a core team of women who understand the needs of those who identify as female. Chopra (a Stanford and Aspen Global fellow) possesses more than 20 years of experience in media, content and community having successfully established women-focussed startups and through this journey deeply understood what gaps women want fulfilled and personalised. Chief Product Officer Swarnima Bhattacharya has worked with women’s health and gender-based policy for over a decade with the UN, WHO and others. Dr Sudeshna Ray, with over 30 years of Ob-Gyn experience from India’s top hospitals is the platform’s medical director.
Investor in Gytree and former CEO of Aditya Birla Capital, Ajay Srinivasan said, “I am excited by femtech as a sector and believe solutions targeted at getting women to lead better lives will scale up and drive growth. Usage of tech can help make solutions more affordable and universal, something India’s 600 mn plus women need immediately.”
As part of its go to market strategy, Gytree will be directly available to consumers through the easy to use web-app, but also to corporations who prioritise female workforce and their health.
The virtual platform gives consumers services wrapped around the core offering of gynaecology that includes mental health support, nutrition counselling, and regular digital health checks linked to their primary needs. Patients get access to at-home lab tests curated for women and round the clock patient care and virtual check-in options. “At Gytree we have several benefits for women seeking such support. They not only get access from anywhere, anytime, but are also able to discuss personal and intimate health details in a safe and discreet environment,” adds Chopra.