Viktoriya Tigipko is one of the most recognized names in the Eastern European VC community and is a native of Ukraine.
She runs TA Ventures, a pre-seed and seed stage VC, since 2010. Additionally she founded iClub (an angel network), WTech (a community for women in tech), and is Chair of the Board at the Ukrainian Startup Fund.
Guest Author: Viktoriya Tigipko
A little while back we announced our participation in the Series A round of HD, a rising star in the medical field in SE Asia. HD started as a marketplace for third-party healthcare and surgery services and is now going very deep into AI as well.
Healthcare has been undergoing a massive transformation in the region due to the intersection of technology and personalized care.
In my view HD exemplifies this transformation by using innovative technologies to enhance patient outcomes while making healthcare more accessible.
I’m also highlighting HD because I think they reflect two important strategic directions for TA Ventures.
The first one being AI-first companies that have the potential to disrupt very large niches with transformative experiences.
And the second is our focus on SE Asia. Why are we investing in this region? What is our plan? etc.
I want to dig deeper on these two points today.
Healthcare reimagined with the help of AI
What drew us to HD was its unique approach to improving patient care, especially in regions where access to quality healthcare is a challenge.
In the past HD had established itself as a kind of “Airbnb for surgeries” and realized some terrific growth and success on the back of that. But they also realized that part of the experience was still a bit broken.
Customers were opting for these surgeries but often had lots of questions that still hadn’t been answered yet. And unfortunately with doctors and hospitals it is often about capacity utilization.
So you have two participants whose perspectives are a bit at odds. The customer, on the one hand, wants to be as informed as possible about all of their alternatives, what the impact of each of those alternatives are, etc.
And the doctors & hospitals on the other hand need to try to keep things as efficient as possible to keep the costs low.
So you can see how this makes for the perfect backdrop for AI. And that is exactly what HD is doing.
HD is building chatbots what I like to think of as the healthcare equivalent of another AI-first company that I like a lot, Sierra AI, which was founded by Bret Taylor. The vision in both Sierra AI and HD is to build AI Agents that customers can interact with and get high quality, personalized advice.
Southeast Asia, with its dense urban populations and underserved rural communities, presents the ideal environment for HD’s model to flourish. Thereby making high quality medical care even more affordable and available to the masses.
For TA Ventures, it wasn’t just about investing in a healthcare company—it was about making a long-term commitment to improving healthcare access for millions.
TA Ventures’ Commitment to Southeast Asia
This investment in HD is part of a broader strategy to focus more of TA Ventures’ efforts on Southeast Asia. We’ve long recognized the potential of this region.
It has a young, dynamic population eager to embrace new technologies. But beyond the commercial aspects, investing here allows us to contribute to solving real-world challenges—especially in industries like healthcare, where the need for innovation is so great.
Southeast Asia’s growth trajectory presents a unique opportunity for TA Ventures to align with groundbreaking startups and established companies alike. We are committed to continuing to expand our presence here, nurturing local talent, and investing in companies that have a positive, transformative impact on society.
This is actually why a little while back we decided to have our very own venture partner in the region, which is Richard Armstrong. Richard lives in Bangkok and has been deep in the startup ecosystem for awhile already as an angel investor.
He also has been involved in a number of his own startups and therefore understands the challenges that founders in the region face first hand.
Our vision for our role in Southeast Asia
As we continue our journey with HD, it’s essential to remember that this is just the beginning. We are committed to nurturing this partnership and ensuring that it evolves in a way that benefits both the business and the communities it serves.
In total we have already invested in 25 companies of which we’ve already exited with 13 of them.
Some of the highlights include:
LittleeyeLabs (India)
- Detailed analytics and performance insights for Android apps.
- Was Facebook’s first acquisition in India in 2014.
Dailyrounds (India)
- Allows doctors to upload and discuss medical cases in real-time.
- Acquired by M3 Inc., a Japan-based global healthcare company, in 2020.
Whatfix (India)
- Interactive step-by-step guides to train users and employees on software.
- Has raised over $140m from Sequoia, Softbank, and others.
Quizziz (India)
- An interactive learning platform that allows educators and students to engage in gamified quizzes, polls, and interactive lessons.
- By 2021 had reached over 65m users in 150 countries.
Hackerearth (India)
- Provides tools that enable organizations to assess software developers through coding challenges, technical interviews, and automated assessments.
- Used by clients such as Amazon, VMware, Walmart Labs and more.
Eyeota (Singapore)
- Audience tracking technology for advertisers.
- Acquired in 2021 by Dstillery.
Mein (Indonesia)
- Female online fashion store.
Looking ahead for SE Asia, TA Ventures will continue to deepen its focus in not just healthcare but also areas like AI, fintech, complex enterprise solutions, and sticky consumer products.
In terms of geography our main focus currently is on Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.
We believe that Southeast Asia is poised to become a global powerhouse in technology and innovation, and we want to be there, working with visionary companies like HD to make it happen.
Do you want to work with us?
There are a variety of ways of working with us. The easiest way is if you are considering angel investing then have a look at iclub.vc.
This is our angel network that consists of 1,000+ angels in 40+ countries and growing. iClub is backed by TA Ventures and is a great place to start for first time angel investors.
There is a simple form to fill out on the site and after being qualified you will have access to our exclusive deal flow.
If you’re interested in TA Ventures than you can see our team here and you can reach out to the person that you feel is most appropriate to your inquiry: https://taventures.vc/team/.
