If we’ve learned anything over the past two years, it’s that sick people should stay home. It’s a simple concept that wasn’t really adopted until the pandemic forced those that are unwell to isolate at home. Doing so obviously protects those around you, but more importantly allows the sick person to rest and recover. But when it comes to every other virus or disease besides Covid, we send our sickest people to congregate in the lobby of an indoor pharmacy. MAYD thinks there’s a better way, and we agree.
Today I am pleased to announce Lightspeed is leading a $30 million Series A round for German pharmaceutical delivery service MAYD, along with Target Global, 468 Ventures, and EarlyBird Venture Capital.
Last October, MAYD began offering 30-minute delivery of over-the-counter drugs and sundries for local pharmacies in Berlin. (Americans can think of it as CVS meets Domino’s Pizza.)
MAYD has proved a godsend for patients who can’t leave their homes due to health concerns, and can’t wait 4 or 5 days for an online delivery to arrive. Those factors are key contributors to the company’s early success; orders have increased 8X in just a few months, and more than a third of its users are repeat customers.
But that’s just prelude to MAYD’s next steps — delivering prescription medicines when Germany’s ePrescriptions mandate takes effect later this year, and expanding to multiple cities throughout the country. The Series A round will help to make these things possible.
The time is ripe
Europe’s ePharmacy market is growing rapidly. Valued at $59 billion in 2019, it’s projected to reach $154 billion by 2028. Yet online penetration of Western Europe’s total pharmacy market remains at around 6 percent — much lower than categories such as apparel, furnishings, or food delivery.
The introduction of mandatory ePrescriptions in Germany is expected to drive online penetration to 11 percent by 2025 and 30 percent by 2030 — creating a $14 billion market in Germany alone. If other Western European countries follow Germany’s lead and adopt digital prescriptions, the market could expand by another $34 billion.
Unlike the US, where a handful of huge national chains dominate the market, Germany’s pharma market is smaller and more localized — no more than four outlets can be owned by a single entity. The lack of a large incumbent in this space creates a greenfield opportunity for startups like MAYD.
The company is building a strong infrastructure in Germany that will allow it to expand rapidly as countries such as Austria, Cyprus, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, and Poland implement electronic prescriptions.
The team is ready
One of MAYD’s key advantages is that it is led by an amazing team of experienced entrepreneurs.
Co-founders and Managing Directors Hanno Heintzenberg and Lukas Pieczonka helped launch McMakler, a digitally driven real estate startup that raised $150 million+ over eight rounds and is now valued at more than $450 million. They are both extraordinarily smart, highly analytical, and driven individuals with a strong track record of success.
Their team includes VP of Product Arik Edelson, who previously led product teams at Ebay and Adikteev, and Head of Engineering Artem Kolosovich, who was lead senior software engineer at Auto1 and a senior engineer at Distillery tech.
MAYD joins Lightspeed’s already stellar list of 20+ portfolio companies based in Europe, which includes Personio ($6B valuation), Blockchain ($5.2B), Vinted ($4.5B), and Grafana Labs ($3B).
MAYD’s team quickly convinced us that same-day delivery of over-the-counter and prescription drugs is a viable and promising business. We believe a digital delivery platform for pharmaceutical products has tremendous potential for growth, and that MAYD has a significant head start on its competition.
We look forward to joining them as they expand across Germany and beyond.
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