Deeptech-focused venture capital firm Unicorn India Ventures (UIV) on Wednesday announced its partial exit from Thiruvananthapuram-based medical technology startup Sascan Meditech with a 6x return. The VC firm had invested Rs 2 crore across two rounds of funding in the company, with the first investment in 2020 and another in 2021 from its second fund of Rs 300 crore. Unicorn India Ventures said it still has a “substantial stake” in Sascan Meditech.
Speaking on the deal, Dr Sushash Narayanan, Founder CEO, Sascan said medical imaging diagnostic company Time Medical Digital Health and Imaging Ventures is doing a secondary and primary in Sascan which will enable it to grow faster and scale up.
“I am happy to note that they (Unicorn India Ventures) will still carry on as an investor and with them and Time Medical, I am sure we will emerge stronger with an array of diagnostics products we have in mind,” Narayanan said on Unicorn’s partial exit.
Founded in 2015 by laser scientist Dr Narayanan, Sascan Meditech has been focusing on developing biophotonics and related technologies to enable affordable cancer care. The company’s flagship product OralScan is a hand-held for non-invasive screening to detect oral cancer early.
Speaking on the partial exit, Anil Joshi, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures, said “The solutions devised by Dr Narayan would help under-privileged populations in India and third world countries in early detection of cancer. Our decision to continue holding a significant stake in the business is a testament to Sascan’s ability to bring real high-tech medical innovation and with a new strategic investor coming onboard, we are excited for the future.”
Unicorn India Ventures is currency raising its third fund of Rs 1,000 crore had recently announced its first close of Rs 225 crore. The VC firm is looking to invest in 25 startups focused on global SaaS and digital platforms across climate tech, agritech, spacetech and the semiconductor ecosystem. Unicorn said it has already made four investments from the third fund.