Heaptalk, Jakarta – Indonesia-based oral wellness startup, KLAR, announced has secured US$4.55 million funding in pre-Series A round, co-led by AC Ventures (ACV) and East Ventures (EV). Seizing the new capital, KLAR plan to scale up its business nationwide that is performed by educating consumers about the importance of oral wellness and rolling out complementary product offerings.
The list of sophisticated investors, such as Venturra Discovery and several angel investors joined the round. AC Ventures, who also joined Klar’s seed round, decided to continue its support as the startup is poised to expand its presence beyond the teeth straightening market.
“As an early champion for this startup, we believe that KLAR Smile offers a practical, innovative solution that millions of locals want and need. We believe in Indonesia’s market potential for oral wellness, and the founding team continues to impress us with their depth of understanding and ability to execute,” explained Michael Soerijadji, Founder and Managing Partner of AC Ventures.
The presence of this platform intends to provide holistic, aesthetic, and functional dental treatments for its patients. In addition, the startup manufactures clear orthodontics aligners in-house. Experienced orthodontists also contributed to developing treatment plans for every set tailor-made to suit each patient’s needs.
Within its first year of operating, KLAR Smile’s CEO, Ellen Pranata, claimed the company has a firm grasp of the Indonesian market by partnering with over 1,000 dentists and orthodontists throughout the archipelago. Further, Ellen has provided the KLAR platform in more than 800 dental clinics across every province in the country, effectively making orthodontics aligner treatment accessible to Indonesia’s entire 275 million population.
Through the KLAR Smile mobile app, dentists and patients can interact and monitor treatment progress remotely. This unique user experience improves convenience and eliminates friction, as it reduces the patient’s number of visits to their clinic and time spent on periodic check-ups.
To ensure effectiveness, Klar Smile believes that aligner solutions require intense collaborative efforts with dentist communities, particularly those in orthodontics. For this reason, the startup actively works with groups like the Indonesian Dentist Association (PDGI) and the Indonesian Orthodontics Association (IKORTI), participating in over 50 dentist community events annually. Further, the startup was the only Indonesian clear aligner player to join a highly prestigious orthodontics event, the 2022 International Association for Orthodontics Symposium in Bali.
Following the Klar investment round, the Partner of East Ventures, Melisa Irene, stated, “We are glad to welcome Klar Smile into part of East Ventures’ family. Oral wellness leads to overall health, and we believe solutions provided by Klar Smile will bring more positive impacts in revolutionizing the whole wellness and health of people in Indonesia,”
Apart from seizing its newest fund, KLAR Smile has appointed prominent Indonesian pop singer and actress Maudy Ayunda as its official brand ambassador. Maudy testifies to the brilliance of the company’s aligner effectiveness and performance. Passionate about education and social advancements for her fellow Indonesians, Maudy believes that a perfect smile can help to generate confidence and thus open up opportunities. Eloquent in her brevity, Maudy said, “Smile because confidence needs something to wear,”
The partnership with Maudy Ayunda is also one of the startup’s strategic actions in moving beyond being an aligner manufacturing company. Klar Smile aims to establish a smile care routine category – a whole new segment of Indonesian oral wellness that fuses dentist expertise and the simplicity of at-home oral care products for a pleasant oral care routine with visible results. A range of innovative and breakthrough direct-to-consumer oral care products are expected to be launched by the end of the year.
