Singapore-based tech-led healthcare firm Doctor Anywhere (DA), said Thursday it has acquired Thailand’s largest telemedicine platform Doctor Raksa for an undisclosed amount.

DA said in a statement that the acquisition comes in the wake of the company’s recent Series C financing round, one of the largest private funding rounds raised by a healthtech company in Southeast Asia at $65.7 million.

It said the deal will advance the company’s mission to become the most prominent tech-enabled omnichannel healthcare provider in the region.

Prior to the acquisition, the active user numbers of the DA platform stood at 1.5 million in Southeast Asia, and the deal will see a further 1 million consumers added to the overall user base, DA’s statement said

DA also noted, the merged entity is poised to deepen its presence in Thailand, where the group will serve its largest user pool after Singapore.

Set to propel DA to become the largest telemedicine platform in Thailand, the company’s Thai revenue is expected to grow by more than 5 times in the next 2 years.

In an effort to make telemedicine available to a wider audience within Thailand, DA said its medication delivery services will expand to 38 provinces by the end of the first quarter of 2022.

The acquisition will also support DA’s growth trajectory and enhance the group’s regional strategy of enabling borderless healthcare.

Boasting a combined overall network of more than 1,000 medical professionals and partners across diversified specialisations including paediatrics, cardiology, urology, gynaecology, orthopaedics and more, DA said, the acquisition unlocks synergies between the 2 platforms to deliver seamless and quality healthcare to more users and providers in the country.

“Doctor Raksa is an established brand in Thailand, and the acquisition is a strategic move by DA as it will enable us to combine our strengths to meet the growing demand for telehealth in Thailand,” said Lim Wai Mun, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DA.

For telehealth to sustain momentum beyond the pandemic, he said it is critical to establish a robust ecosystem where payers, providers and patients can seamlessly adopt the service.

“We are confident that this acquisition will equip us to strengthen our existing infrastructure and pave the way forward for a new future of telehealth in the country,” he added.

Established in 2016, Doctor Raksa has over 1 million users to date, leveraging proven telemedicine technologies to bring affordable and accessible healthcare to users. Its key offerings include online doctor consultations, electronic prescriptions, electronic medical summaries, pharmacist consultations and prescription refills.

Under the acquisition, the respective telehealth offerings by Doctor Raksa and DA will retain their existing core functions, while harnessing key resources and know-how to develop new product features for users.

“The regional exposure of DA–the leading digital healthcare platform in Southeast Asia–will bring immediate scale, strong business to business (B2B) relationships, and tech capabilities to Doctor Raksa. This will help us to provide an even better product offering for our patients, doctors and employees,” said Jaren Siew, Chief Executive Officer of Doctor Raksa.

DA Thailand General Manager Surangkhana (Nicky) Surapaitoon also said, the acquisition of Doctor Raksa brings key learnings for the group to localise its services to meet growing in-market needs and engage with its users, and the information exchange between two extremely capable teams will help the group build an effective omnichannel telehealth model for the country.

“We are excited for what this acquisition will bring as we make healthcare available and accessible to people in Thailand anytime, anywhere,” he added.

DA is a regional tech-enabled, omnichannel healthcare company, on a mission to make healthcare simple, accessible, and efficient for everyone. DA’s digital platform bridges gaps in the healthcare ecosystem through technology and innovation, enabling users to manage their health easily and effectively through the DA mobile app.

DA is currently available in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The group also recently announced the establishment of regional tech hubs in India and Vietnam.

Telehealth and online pharmacies are leading the growth in the healthcare industry, says Doctor Anywhere’s Lim Wai Mun [Q&A]