GOQii, an Indian startup in the health and fitness space and a maker of wearables etc has received a fresh infusion of funds from Bollywood star Akshay Kumar. This is part of the company’s Series C fund raising round, but the amount invested by Akshay Kumar has not been disclosed. The broad understanding is that the company is hoping to raise up to $70 million in this round of funding. Its valuation has had a healthy jump to $200 million from an earlier level of just half of this value earlier.
Akshay Kumar has a reputation of being into fitness and the company has said he reflects the philosophy they stand for in terms of acknowledging the importance of fitness and health.
The company has plans to take its business beyond Indian boundaries and has already set foot in Japan, where it has entered into an arrangement with Mitsui & Co. The Japanese company has invested in GOQii too. The funding process is expected to carryon and Mitsui may induct more funds from its side, it is learnt. There are other investors in the company who have taken a position in its 4 years of existence. These include DSG Consumer Partners, NEA, Edelweiss Financial Services, Cheetah Mobile Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Ratan Tata many of whom are early-stage investors in GOQii.
The company has identified insurance as a business segment that is synergistic with its health and wellness model and many insurance companies have tied up with GOQii. It is based on the data that the company collects on the health and fitness levels of its customers. This will be expanded into larger canvas with GOQii getting into selling insurance policies.
After Japan, where it has floated a separate entity GOQii KK, a subsidiary along with Mitsui & Co., the plan is to enter markets like Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. The company wants to quadruple its user base of around 2.7 million now to 10 million before the end of this year.