Unicorn India Ventures (UIV), a deeptech-focused venture capital firm, announced on Wednesday its partial exit from Thiruvananthapuram-based medical technology startup Sascan Meditech, yielding a significant 6x return on its investment.
The VC firm had initially invested Rs 2 crore across two funding rounds, with the first investment made in 2020 followed by another in 2021 from its second fund amounting to Rs 300 crore. Despite the partial exit, Unicorn India Ventures retains a substantial stake in Sascan Meditech.
Dr. Sushash Narayanan, Founder CEO of Sascan, expressed optimism about the deal, highlighting the strategic implications of a secondary and primary investment by medical imaging diagnostic company Time Medical Digital Health and Imaging Ventures in Sascan. He emphasized the potential for accelerated growth and scaling up of Sascan’s diagnostic products.
Anil Joshi, Managing Partner at Unicorn India Ventures, underscored Sascan’s contribution to affordable cancer care through its biophotonics technologies. Joshi noted the firm’s decision to maintain a significant stake in Sascan as a testament to its innovative capabilities and impact in the medical diagnostics sector. He also mentioned the excitement about a new strategic investor joining Sascan, enhancing prospects for future growth.
Founded in 2015 by laser scientist Dr. Narayanan, Sascan Meditech is renowned for its flagship product OralScan, designed for non-invasive screening to detect oral cancer early. The company has been dedicated to advancing biophotonics and related technologies to improve healthcare accessibility, particularly in underprivileged populations in India and other developing countries.
Unicorn India Ventures is currently in the process of raising its third fund amounting to Rs 1,000 crore and recently announced the first close at Rs 225 crore. The VC firm aims to deploy investments across 25 startups focusing on global SaaS platforms, digital solutions in climate tech, agritech, spacetech, and the semiconductor ecosystem. As of now, Unicorn India Ventures has already initiated investments in four startups from its third fund.
