Walmart-backed e-commerce giant Flipkart has announced its entry into the healthcare sector with the launch of its healthcare vertical Flipkart Health+.

The part of this, the company says it has signed definitive agreements to acquire a majority stake in Sastasundar Marketplace Limited that owns and operates online pharmacy and digital healthcare platform SastaSundar.com.

The decision by Flipkart to enter the healthcare sector comes at a time when there is an intense competition in the market as demand for such services increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Flipkart, with its foray into the online healthcare segment, will be in a direct competition with some of the already established players like Reliance-owned NetMeds, 1mg, PharmEasy, among others.

The Kolkata-based startup Sastasundar was valued at $125 million in a funding round in 2019 and has tie-ups with close to 500 pharmacies across the country.