Plug and Play is excited to announce our latest investment in Wellx, which offers personalized and gamified health and life insurance to incentivize healthy behavior and lifestyle choices of customers through cash back and rewards.

We met the team in early 2022, then co-participated in multiple events across the Gulf Cooperation Council, better known as the GCC, with the team and invited them to some Plug and Play events, including the QIC hackathon and the Healthcare Future Summit.

The GCC is currently grappling with a surge in non-communicable diseases and declining health due to sedentary lifestyles, tobacco use, and poor diet, resulting in an annual cost of over $50bn. This presents a significant challenge for the healthcare system and insurance companies, which is where Wellx comes in.

Wellx aims to create healthier, happier, and more resilient communities by combining health and insurance services in the United Arab Emirites, or UAE. They utilize innovative technologies like health tracking, behavioral science, gamification, and AI coaching to empower users in forming sustainable habits. With a customer-centric approach, Wellx is disrupting the insurance industry by providing seamless, personalized insurance experiences.

Meet the team behind Wellx

The team at Wellx is composed of three co-founders: Vaibhav Kashyap, Javed Akberali, and Anushka Patchava, each bringing deep expertise in their respective fields. Vaibhav has over eight years of experience in insurance underwriting, consulting, and business development, holding a background in Insurance and Economics, as well as an MBA from INSEAD. Javed brings a decade of experience in banking and financial services, with a focus on solutions hub management and direct sales. Anushka Patchava, the third co-founder, is a clinical physician with a background in healthcare innovation and population health solutions.

Vaibhav partnered with Javed, who previously held the position of VP-Head of Solutions Hub at Dubai Islamic Bank, while Anushka joined Wellx after her role as Deputy Chief Medical Officer at Vitality Global, having previously worked at Google X and Aetna International. Anushka earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees at Cambridge and Harvard, respectively. Together, their combined expertise in insurance, financial services, and healthcare forms the foundation of the Wellx team.

Why we're excited to invest

The team is exceptional, their model is impressive, and a significant market opportunity exists. We firmly believe that this team has what it takes to fill that gap and tremendously impact the health and well-being of the region's population. Vaibhav Kashyap, Co-founder and CEO at Wellx also spoke on how this investment will impact their business, "this funding empowers us to accelerate our growth plans, expand our customer base across the region, and spearhead the adoption of healthier habits in alignment with the UAE's National Strategy for Wellbeing 2023. We are fully charged to take on the market and excited to expand our product lines and services.”