PharmEasy, an online drugstore company, raised approximately $350 million in its most recent round of funding, ahead of submitting its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in preparation for an IPO (Initial Public Offering).

Singapore's Amansa Capital, Blackstone-backed hedge fund ApaH Capital, US hedge fund Janus Henderson, OrbiMed, Steadview Capital, Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund ADQ, hedge fund Neuberger Berman, and London's Sanne Group have all contributed to the firm's major funding round of $204 million (roughly Rs 1,505 crore).

As part of the secondary sale, some 20 senior staff members purchased shares worth $5 million, showing that they are positive on the IPO.

Early investors and angel investors have sold their positions in the company, while IIFL's tech fund has also purchased shares, according to the sources.

Word on the street is that PharmEasy's founders also bought shares in the secondary market for around $40 million.

Present buyers sell their shares to new buyers in a secondary share sale, and the funds do not go into the company's coffers. Despite this, there are no details on the secondary share offering in the regulatory filings.

This is the company's third major financing round, bringing the total to $1 billion, including secondary funding, in the calendar year so far, amid record amounts of capital being put into businesses at the forefront of the digital financial system.

It has raised around $650 million since April, excluding the most recent financing. With a $1.5 billion valuation, e-pharmacy joined the unicorn club.

As of October 7, according to an IVCA-Preqin report, venture capital investing in startups had reached a record high of $26 billion.

API Holdings' post-money valuation has grown to $5.6 billion following the pre-IPO spherical, according to sources. PharmEasy was founded in the year 2000.

After purchasing diagnostics chain Thyrocare for nearly $600 million in June, it was valued at $4 billion.

PharmEasy's founders, Siddharth Shah, Dhaval Shah, Dhramil Sheth, Harsh Parekh, and Hardik Dedhia, have also been issued fresh stock options ahead of the IPO, a growing trend among firms that provides a huge wealth creation opportunity for founders prior to a public market debut.

Under the worker inventory possession strategy, each founder has been allocated 9,987 inventory options (Esop)

Leading firms around the world have also implemented similar training routines to reward their founders.

PharmEasy has also added five new independent directors to its 12-member board of directors and received board approval to transform from a private to a public company.