Pi Labs’ investment in Cure
In mid-September, German-based consumer healthcare start-up Cure announced their €15 million Series A round. We are pleased to confirm our participation in this round, investing alongside Breega, Abstract Ventures and J12 Ventures. Cure is a healthcare on-demand company on a mission is to simplify, and be the easiest way for anyone to access, healthcare without leaving their home. Since launching their product in February 2022, Cure have effectively doubled their business every 4–5 weeks.
Background of our investment
The 2020–21 pandemic added scrutiny to the funding and efficiency of healthcare systems. A number of additional forces are impacting this conversation. Research indicates that “$265 billion worth of care services currently being delivered in clinics, facilities, and physicians’ offices could shift to the home by 2025” in the US alone. We also expect legislative changes such as Germany’s recent e-prescription initiatives to serve as a tailwind for Cure. Cure has the potential to position itself as a healthcare hub that connects all essential services for patients and to play a key role in connecting the healthcare industry in Germany and across Europe leveraging the use of technology.
How did the investment come about
At Pi Labs, we have been challenging ourselves to test the edge of our investment thesis, which is traditionally oriented toward technology that changes the way we interact with the built world. There are a number of themes which influence this without being directly classified under the PropTech banner. We see Cure’s approach to healthcare to directly affect our use of both healthcare infrastructure and homes.
🤝 Source of intro: outbound scouting. The Pi Labs investment team were researching the theme, found Cure and started a dialogue.
An overview of the company
Industry: healthcare access and delivery
Location: Berlin, Germany
Founding year: 2021
Problem: The challenge for European consumers is to get medication delivered in an instant and painless manner. The European pharmacy landscape is fragmented and designed to discourage consolidation seen in other regions like the US and UK. Limited to a set number of locations, pharmacies tend to only serve a very small geographical area around their store and online logistics. Order flows can help to grow their revenues by serving customers over a wider geographical area. However, due to the complex and variable requirements around delivering prescriptions, there is a need for a specialist platform to manage this process, which cannot be delivered by the existing quick-commerce players.
Why we invested
Since our first interaction, we were impressed by the calibre and professionalism of the founding team. Ali and Manuel are serial founders with a background in tech and mobility, as well as and three successful exits between them prior to starting Cure in 2021. They are ambitious, motivated, and managed to surround themselves with an exceptional senior team to deliver on their vision to disrupt the healthcare industry in Europe by putting the patient at the centre of all decision-making. Cure is tapping into a very large and growing opportunity, with the recent regulation on e-prescriptions making Germany the primary market. According to a 2020 report, the size of the German pharmaceuticals market was only €41.4 billion in 2019 with expectations to grow at a 6% CAGR between 2020 and 2027. Wary of the profitability pitfalls of asset-heavy models currently used in last-mile delivery and quick-commerce, the founders introduced a super lean and cost-efficient hub-less business model with a focusing since the early days, on achieving sustainable growth leveraging automation and digitisation. Finally, the Cure team’s strength attracted an exceptional syndicate of investors. We look forward to more co-investments alongside generalist VCs with complementary skills to our own, as we explore the boundaries of our investment thesis.
What’s next
The company will use the funding to accelerate its expansion across Germany and into France as well as investing into its tech platform with integration of online consultations this year, as well as telemedicine applications such as telediagnostics and telemonitoring in 2023. Cure will be hiring developers, programmers, data scientists and backend engineers to deliver on their product roadmap.
We are currently seeking out new technology start-ups working to improve our relationship with the built world and its impact on our communities, businesses and the environment. If that sounds like you or somebody you know, there’s no better time to apply for the eleventh edition of our Growth Programme (beginning February 2023). Application deadline is 28 October 2022.
See more details and how to apply here.
