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How E Pharmacy Startup 1mg Changed The Way Medicines Are Delivered

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5 years ago

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India is one of the countries where the prices of drugs and pharmaceuticals are the cheapest in the world, but access to healthcare is still one of the major problems which plague the Country.  A majority of urban population, along with the rural population in India, does not have any idea about proper nutrition, medicinal and dietary advice and the idea for 1mg, an e pharmacy startup, began on this premise.

Beginnings

1mg was initially started as HealthKartPlus, a platform which aggregated medical information and sold alternative medicine to its users.  The platform caught up quickly with the users and soon the users began asking for delivery of medicines to be included as well. That was when 1mg was founded by Prashant Tandon, Gaurav Agarwal and Vikas Chauhan in 2015.  At a time when information and awareness about medicines and lab tests were either minimal or non existent, 1mg aimed to change it. HealthKartPlus now stocks and offers health and dietary supplements and targets a younger demographic audience.

Services

After rebranding itself as a platform offering sales of generic drugs and pharmaceuticals, 1mg currently has 2 other major verticals (business areas)—doctor consultations and lab tests.  Users can go on the website or mobile phone app of 1mg to avail any of their services like ordering medicines, booking an appointment with a doctor or booking a lab test, which is neatly classified according to health and body categories.

Quality and information checks

Pharmaceuticals are very sensitive and need to be stored and tracked properly and on an online marketplace like this, there needs to be a system in place to ensure the quality of the medicines.  1mg has a system in place where they onboard vendors onto the platform if they meet certain requirements like computerised inventory and invoicing, which makes end to end tracking easier for the customer.  The startup is able to generate business even after strict government compliances which banned online pharmacies by making a prescription mandatory to make a purchase.

Adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

With AI being hailed as the technology of the future, every startup is trying to adapt it in some capacity to streamline and optimise their offerings.  1mg recently started offering a feature, ‘Ask a Doctor,’ which is an intuitive chatbot that asks questions in order to accurately identify what the problem may be and shows the medicinal specializations under which the ailment may fall.  Users can choose from one of them and a doctor, who can diagnose the problem via chat, is assigned to you.

With technology changing everyday, 1mg established itself in the e pharmacy market place as a major player.  They currently deliver medicines and health products to homes across more than a thousand cities in India from licensed and verified pharmacies.

Read about how this company is recycling electronic waste: How Namo E-Waste Is Solving A Major Environmental Issue

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Entrepreneur Stories

From Digital Wallet to Stock Market: MobiKwik Expands Its Horizons with New Brokerage Venture

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1 week ago

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March 26, 2025

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From Digital Wallet to Stock Market: MobiKwik Expands Its Horizons with New Brokerage Venture

MobiKwik is venturing into the stock broking sector with the launch of its subsidiary, MobiKwik Securities Broking Private Limited (MSBPL), following approval from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on March 3, 2025. This move aims to diversify MobiKwik’s offerings beyond its core digital payments services and compete with established players like Zerodha and Groww.

MSBPL will provide a range of brokerage services, including trading in shares, securities, commodities, and derivatives. The subsidiary has an initial capital of Rs 1 lakh, with plans for an additional Rs 2 crore investment to support its operations.

As MobiKwik enters this competitive market, it brings a substantial user base of 172 million and a merchant network of 5 million. Despite recent financial challenges, including a reported loss of Rs 55.2 crore in Q3 FY25, the company aims to leverage its existing infrastructure and user engagement to capture a share of the growing investment technology market, projected to reach $74 billion by 2030.

This strategic expansion aligns with MobiKwik’s broader goals of enhancing its financial service

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Entrepreneur Stories

Strategic Shift: Nazara Sells Entire Stake in Sports Unity Amid Financial Challenges

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1 week ago

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March 26, 2025

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Strategic Shift: Nazara Sells Entire Stake in Sports Unity Amid Financial Challenges

Nazara Technologies has sold its entire 71.54% stake in Sports Unity Private Limited, the company behind the multiplayer quiz game ‘Qunami’, for INR 7.15 lakh. This divestment, effective March 25, 2025, signifies a strategic shift for Nazara, which had previously acquired a controlling interest in Sports Unity in 2019 for INR 7.5 crore.

The decision to offload the stake comes as Sports Unity has faced financial difficulties, reporting no active business operations and a negative net worth of INR 0.45 crore at the end of FY24. This move aligns with Nazara’s broader strategy to streamline its operations and concentrate on more profitable ventures within the gaming sector.

This sale follows Nazara’s recent divestment of a 94.85% stake in another subsidiary, Open Play, to Moonshine Technologies for INR 104.33 crore. Despite reporting record quarterly revenue of INR 544.7 crore in Q3 FY25, Nazara experienced a 53.5% decline in net profit year-over-year.

Nazara continues to focus on enhancing its portfolio through strategic acquisitions and investments in high-potential gaming platforms while navigating the competitive landscape of the gaming industry.

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Inverstors Stories

Fractal Invests $20 Million in Asper.ai to Accelerate AI Solutions for Consumer Goods

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2 weeks ago

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March 21, 2025

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Fractal Invests $20 Million in Asper.ai to Accelerate AI Solutions for Consumer Goods

Fractal, a leading SaaS unicorn, has announced a strategic investment of $20 million in Asper.ai, an AI-driven platform focused on the consumer goods and manufacturing sectors. This funding, revealed on March 19, 2025, aims to accelerate Asper’s growth by enhancing product development and expanding its enterprise customer base.

Investment Highlights

Pranay Agrawal, Co-Founder and CEO of Fractal, expressed excitement about the partnership, noting Asper’s impressive growth over the past three years. He stated that this investment will unlock new opportunities for enterprise customers and drive further innovation within Asper.

Asper.ai’s Objectives

Mohit Agarwal, Co-Founder and CEO of Asper.ai, emphasized the need for consumer goods leaders to have a strategic ally that can adapt to their operations and transform data into actionable insights. The investment will support Asper in building its autonomous growth AI platform and attracting top talent.

Future Plans

Anuj Kaushik, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Asper.ai, highlighted the positive market response to their offerings. With Fractal’s investment, Asper.ai plans to enhance its AI capabilities across key areas like demand forecasting and revenue growth management.

Conclusion

Fractal’s $20 million investment marks a significant step in advancing AI solutions within the consumer goods sector. The collaboration between Fractal and Asper.ai is set to redefine how businesses leverage AI for growth and efficiency in a competitive landscape.

 

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