| | MAY 20258Policybazaar owner PB Fintech's new healthcare venture has raised $218 million in a seed round, marking its entry into India's fast-growing healthcare industry. The venture, PB Health, will use the funds to set up four to five hospitals in and around New Delhi by 2027, with a long-term plan to build a 25-30 hospital network across 10 Indian cities. The fundraising comprises $50 million from General Catalyst, a Silicon Valley firm that previously led a $340 million round for Mumbai-based quick commerce startup Zepto and supports Indian startups like Cred and Spinny.Policybazaar is the biggest insurance aggregator in India, offering health, life, and vehicle insurance on behalf of various insurers.PB Fintech's first investment of approximately $62 million will secure a 26 percent stake in PB Health, Dahiya noted, while not disclosing the names of other investors.In recent years, private investment in Indian healthcare has increased significantly, attracting 84 PE/VC deals valued at $3.2 billion in 2024 and 62 deals amounting to $5 billion in 2023, as reported by EY and IVCA.The investment comes just a year after General Catalyst expanded in India by merging with local venture firm Venture Highway and earmarking $500 million to $1 billion for fresh investments in the country. Wibmo, the online payments security platform owned by PayU, is set to appoint Shailesh Paul, a senior executive from Visa, as its new CEO. Shailesh Paul is an international business leader known for fostering growth and guiding strategy. His career encompasses more than twenty years in leadership positions within payments, financial services, and fintech. Shailesh oversaw international markets, including Asia Pacific, South Asia, and Middle Eastern markets based in Singapore, India, and Qatar. Shailesh has led strategic changes affecting revenue in the 10-digit dollar range. He is a recognized expert in payments and a former retail banker.Shailesh was most recently the Global Head of Small Merchant Acceptance at Visa, responsible for strategy and market entry for a segment that generates 10-digit dollar industry revenue. He led the overhaul of Visa's worldwide strategy for SMBs and launched new pricing and product innovations. Throughout his tenure, the company provided digital solutions to over 50 million SMBs worldwide.Before joining Visa, Shailesh was in charge of Cards & Personal Loans at Standard Chartered Bank in Qatar. He worked as a product manager at the bank in India and was the Marketing Manager for Mastercard before that.Shailesh is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business ­ Advanced Management Program (recipient of the Best Social Enterprise Project award), has an MBA from Xavier Institute of Management (India), and possesses a business degree from Delhi University.PayU acquired Wibmo in 2019 for $70 million as part of its strategy to extend beyond consumer payments into areas like security, lending, and infrastructure. In March, ET reported that PayU had picked up a stake in payments firm Mindgate, valuing it between $200­250 million.Founded in 1999 by Govind Setlur and Veena Mistry, Wibmo had previously raised early-stage funding from venture capital firm Accel, according to Tracxn data. PB HEALTH RAISES $ 218 MILLION IN SEED FUNDING ROUNDWIBMO APPOINTS SHAILESH PAUL AS ITS NEW CEOIN FOCUSIN FOCUS
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