Rio Health Raises $4.5 Mn To Scale Its Quick Pharmacy Network

Pharmacy-focused quick commerce startup Rio Health has raised $4.5 Mn (around ₹43 Cr) in a pre-Series A funding round led by Version One Ventures. Existing investors Xeed Ventures, Good Capital and Amplify also participated in the all-equity round.

The startup intends to use the fresh capital to expand its presence across Delhi NCR by setting up 12 more dark stores as well as strengthen its tech abilities across ordering, inventory and delivery operations.

The startup is also targeting an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of more than ₹150 Cr over the next nine to 12 months.

“This funding will help us strengthen our technology, improve how we predict neighbourhood-level demand, and make reliable medicine delivery available to many more customers across Delhi NCR,” said Rio Health cofounder Ankur Agrawal.

Founded by Agrawal and Amit Ahuja, Rio Health delivers medicines and healthcare essentials in Delhi NCR within 20-30 minutes. Customers can place orders by typing or speaking in Hindi, English or Hinglish, or by uploading a photograph of a prescription.

The startup’s AI system identifies the medicines prescribed and creates an order, which is subsequently verified by a licensed pharmacist. Rio Health currently processes more than 30,000 orders a month, with an average order value of ₹600-700. 

The startup claims that nearly 80% of its orders come from repeat customers.

Rio Health currently offers access to more than 20,000 SKUs, while long-tail medicines are sourced through its distributor network. Its dark stores serve a radius of around three kilometres, with neighbourhood-level demand data used to forecast medicine requirements and stock its stores accordingly.

Prior to the latest round, Rio Health had raised ₹19.2 Cr across earlier funding rounds. The latest investment takes its total funding raised to ₹62.2 Cr ($6.5 Mn).

The fundraise comes as quick commerce players and specialised startups are stepping up their bets on faster medicine delivery, even as the category comes with higher operational and regulatory complexities than grocery within the booming quick commerce market.

Broadly, the Indian quick commerce market is expected to become a $30 Bn to $40 Bn opportunity in the next three to five years. Quick commerce players are expected to clock $68 Bn in gross merchandise value (GMV) by 2031, up from $8.3 Bn in 2026 — an almost 8X rise at a 52% CAGR. 

Quick commerce giants Zepto, Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart are already exploring 10-minute medicine delivery as they look beyond grocery for higher-value categories. However, unlike grocery, pharma requires licensed entities, prescription verification and tighter controls around inventory, storage and fulfilment.

The complexity has also created room for specialised players. 

Plazza, which operates technology-enabled neighbourhood pharmacies, raised $15 Mn in July 2026 to strengthen its technology and AI-led inventory systems and expand beyond its two Bengaluru stores. 

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