Healthtech startup Pristyn Care suspends Lybrate founders

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Pristyn Care on Thursday said it had suspended Saurabh Arora and Rahul Narang, founders of Lybrate, which it acquired last year. It did not respond to ET’s query on the reason behind the move. A report in Mint on Thursday said that the suspensions came a day after Arora and Narang served a default notice to Pristyn Care demanding outstanding payment resulting from its acquisition of the primary care provider.

In response to ET’s query on the developments, Pristyn Care denied defaulting on its contractual obligations. Arora did not respond to ET’s emailed query on the matter. “Pristyn Care has and shall continue to act in accordance with contractual terms and conditions.

We would like to emphasize that Pristyn Care has not defaulted on any of its contractual obligations. We would not like to say anything further at this stage,” a company spokesperson said. Citing increased demand in online healthcare services, Pristyn Care had acquired Lybrate in June 2022 to enter the online consultations business.

With the deal, Pristyn Care added doctor consultation online services, effectively entering primary care. Some 150 Lybrate employees had gone on to join Pristyn Care. In March, Gurugram-headquartered Pristyn Care fired 45 employees of its 2,000-strong workforce across functions.

Founded in 2018 by Harsimarbir Singh and doctors Vaibhav Kapoor and Garima Sawhney, it services patients with minimal invasive medical and surgical interventions. In the surgeries space, Pristyn Care competes with Anicut Capital-backed Glamyo Health, Ayu Health, Medfin, MediBuddy, Practo and PharmEasy. In December 2021, it raised $96 million in Series E funding, more than doubling its valuation to $1.4 billion.