KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 12): Digital employee health and wellbeing provider Naluri Pte Ltd has raised US$5 million (RM21.1 million) in its latest equity fundraising round to fund expansion into Southeast Asia, beginning with the Philippines and Vietnam, while targeting profitability within a year.

The latest fundraising, led by venture capital outfit Telus Global Ventures, brings Naluri’s total Series-B funding to US$14 million, including earlier tranches. Existing investors Sumitomo Corp Equity Asia and M Venture Partners also participated in the round, according to a statement.

The company, with existing operations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, plans to also use the new funding for working capital. Group CEO and co-founder Azran Osman-Rani said the company aims to reach one million lives covered.

Naluri offers programmes that combine mental health, preventive behavioural health and chronic disease management, with health screenings and assessments, health promotion and engagement programmes, multidisciplinary health coaching and consultation services, and 24/7 crisis support lines.

It currently serves clients in industries such as banking, insurance, energy, mining, telecommunications, technology, transport, logistics, professional services and business process outsourcing in Malaysia and Indonesia.

The company has expanded operations to Singapore and Thailand and secured Pan-Asian and global clients through programmes that integrate mental health, preventive behavioural health, chronic disease management, health screenings, coaching and 24/7 crisis support.

Concurrently, Telus through its healthcare technology services unit also signed a commercial partnership with Naluri to serve employee assistance programme clients in eight regional markets.

The funding success highlights the growing importance of digital health solutions to address medical cost inflation, as well as the wellbeing of employees at the centre of companies' growth strategies, Naluri said.