Exclusive: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Invests In 1MG
Summary
According to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs filings accessed by Inc42, the company on Thursday (January 30) received an infusion of INR 71 Cr ($9.9 Mn) from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. However, the company had floated an offer for INR 73 Cr to raise $10 Mn and had said that share value may vary based on RBI’s fluctuating dollar-INR rate. It had sought board approval to “undertake these transactions, which include the grant and transfer of the intellectual copyrights developed by the company by using funds from BMGF, as per the Letter agreement.” Inc42‘s queries on the matter didn’t elicit any response till the time of publication. 1MG was launched in April 2015, after Healthkart — founded by Prashant Tandon, Gaurav Agarwal, and Vikas Chauhan — separated its generic drug search business, HealthkartPlus, and rebranded it to 1MG. DataLabs by Inc42 in its Annual Indian Tech Startup Funding report 2019 noted that the policy uncertainty towards epharmacy played a crucial role in depleting the investor confidence towards this sector.