Breathe Well-Being, a digital therapeutics firm, has secured $5.5 million in a Series A round headed by Accel. According to a senior corporate official, General Catalyst, 3one4 Capital, and Scott Shleifer, the global managing director of New York-based investment firm Tiger Global, also participated in the round.

“We will use the capital to deepen our tech expertise in product development and in building out our platform and team across functions,” says, Rohan Verma, co-founder and CEO, Breathe Well Being.

The Y Combinator-backed startup, which launched in the midst of the Covid-19 outbreak, uses a customised coach-driven approach to help patients prevent, control, and treat Type 2 diabetes.

In May, the company announced the completion of a $1 million pre-Series A financing funded by 3one4 Capital.

The company's investors include Sandeep Singhal (managing director, Nexus Venture Partners), Ashish Gupta (ex-MD, Helion Ventures and a Flipkart, MakeMyTrip, and naukri.com investor), and Stanford Angels and Entrepreneurs India (SAE India).

Y Combinator, based in Silicon Valley, invested in Breathe during its 2020 winter batch.

Gurugram-based Breathe claims to have a clinically validated digital programme that uses a tailored coach-driven, community-first approach to help Type 2 Diabetes patients lower blood sugar levels, lose weight, and finally quit taking medication.

Reversing chronic diseases such as diabetes necessitates individualised lifestyle modifications in food, fitness, and mental health. More than 95 percent of patients with HbA1c (three-month average blood sugar readings) reductions of more than 10% and more than 90 percent of patients with entirely stopped or reduced medications, according to the company's flagship Online Diabetes Reversal Program.

Patients only pay if their HbA1c levels drop significantly; otherwise, the cost is returned.

Type 2 diabetes, polycystic ovarian disease, thyroid illness, and hypertension affect 150 million people in India.

Diabetes, if left untreated, can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney damage, and nerve damage, among other consequences. Diabetes increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes in adults by two to three times.

“We are really impressed at the customer stickiness around Breathe’s product and believe that the company has tremendous potential in scaling up this digital-led approach not just with diabetes but with any other conditions,” said Radhika Ananth, vice president, Accel, who focuses on early-stage investments in healthcare and consumer technologies companies at the firm.