Hot European tech company, Doctolub, raises $42 M

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Only 10 months after increasing a $28 million round of venture capital, Paris-based Doctolib announced today that it has bagged another $42 million as it attempts to expand the global footprint of its online doctor-booking service.

Founded in 2013, Doctolib has now raised a total of $96.4 million and employs over 300 people. That level of fundraising makes the company one of the very ambitious on the French tech scene. But it also underscores the challenges facing Doctolib, or some other startup, when it comes to altering the health care market.

Doctolib is becoming a massive presence in its home country and has aready grew to Germany. This new money will allow it to grow in the German marketplace where, as in France, compelling physicians to sign up and attracting new patients is an intensive procedure.

“With this album fundraising in 2017, Doctolib has the means to chase its European ambitions,” explained Doctolib cofounder and president Stanislas Niox-Chateau, in a declaration. “With no equivalent to Doctolib in Germany in terms of size, support, and merchandise, we have the chance to become the leader on the market. Our purpose is to become a normal service in Germany in the following months and to construct the continent’s e-health pioneer by initially focusing on France and Germany.”

Expansion to other nations in Europe remains over the horizon.

Nonetheless, the new capital is evidence of investors’ confidence in the progress Doctolib has made thus far. The most recent round includes money from Bpifrance, the public investment lender that accounts for the largest source of venture capital in France. Additionally, investment company Eurazeo joined the round. Previous investors in Doctolib include Accel, PriceMinister cofounder Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet, and BlaBlaCar cofounder Nicolas Brusson.

Launched from Paris in 2013, Doctolib provides a selection of applications solutions to allow physicians to handle bookings and speak with patients online. The subscription-based version caters to a selection of health clients, from single-GP clinics to entire hospitals, while it also functions to help patients find nearby physicians, make bookings, and monitor appointments around the clock.

Should Doctolib continue its momentum, it could finally confront competition from New York-based ZocDoc, that has raised more than $220 million. ZocDoc operates mainly from the U.S., and also the size of its own fundraising is also a symptom of the enormous financial resources companies will need to attack the healthcare industry.

Closer to home in Europe, possible rivals include Poland’s DocPlanner, that has now raised $50.8 million. Luxembourg-based Doctena