A Rs 1,100 crore lesson: Has Flipkart's e-pharmacy foray hit a dead end?

On 30 September, around two dozen executives at Flipkart Health+, the e-pharmacy vertical of Flipkart, served their last day at work. These were the second set of employees laid off from Flipkart Health+ this year, following a similar round of layoffs in March, The CapTable has learnt.

The firings indicate a marked shift in priorities for Flipkart, which dove into the e-pharma space during Covid with the acquisition of the e-pharmacy unit of Kolkata-based SastaSundar Ventures in 2021. 

That acquisition cost Flipkart Rs 1,100 crore, according to regulatory filings, and came at a time when India’s healthtech space—fuelled by pandemic fears—was booming.

Indeed, in 2021 alone, India’s healthtech startups received $2.2 billion in VC funding, with e-pharma ventures accounting for a third of this funding. The same year birthed four healthtech unicorns—Innovaccer, PharmEasy, Curefit, and Pristyn Care.