Mfine, an AI health care startup headquartered in Bangalore, today announced that it has raised $17.2 million in a series B funding round led by Japan-based venture group SBI Investment, with participation from SBI Ven Capital, Beenext, Stellaris Venture Partners, and Prime Venture Partners. This comes after a $4.2 million series A round in May 2018 and brings Mfine's total raised to $24 million, according to Crunchbase. CEO and cofounder Prasad Kompalli says the funds will be used to acquire new customers and expand service across India. "We believe that India will leapfrog the methods of health care delivery that were adopted in the developed nations, and mobile will be at the center of this disruption. The current funding is an endorsement to Mfine's unique model of working with reputed and accredited hospitals and using technology to make quality health care accessible to millions of people," he said.

If you're a Bengaluru resident, it's quite likely that you might have seen mfine's billboards, which are plastered around town, pitching their solution for an on-demand healthcare platform, where you can get a doctor consultation in 60 seconds. The year-old startup, founded by ex-Myntra co-founder Ashutosh Lawania and other members of Myntra's leadership team is not only mobile first, it's also an AI first startup. Its homepage touts its AI healthcare platform, claiming that the system is learning medical standards, protocols, diagnosis and treatment methods. "Software is going to eat the world, but AI is going to eat software." AI and machine learning have made significant incursions into agriculture, transport, education, and healthcare this decade, and some of these ripples can be felt in India too.