Online food ordering and delivery service Swiggy has raised $210 million in fresh funding led by South African Internet giant Naspers and Russian billionaire Yuri Milner-led investment firm DST Global, bringing the total capital the company has raised so far to close to half a billion dollars.
Sources confirmed that the fresh capital was raised at a valuation of $1.3 billion, making Swiggy the most valuable player in the space. The latest round comes just four months after the Bengaluru-based company raised $100 million led by its biggest backer Naspers.
Swiggy is shoring up on capital to defend its position as India’s largest food-ordering app as rivals Zomato and FoodPanda begin eyeing growth after receiving funding as well. While FoodPanda’s India business has been acquired by ride-hailing giant Ola, Zomato recently received $150 million in funding from Alibaba subsidiary Ant Financials.
“With this investment, we will continue to widen Swiggy’s offerings, along with bolstering our capabilities and plugging the gaps in the on-demand delivery ecosystem,” said Sriharsha Majety, co-founder and CEO of Swiggy, in a statement.
The company said the latest round of funding will help it grow its supply chain and enter new markets. Since February, Swiggy has launched its services in Kochi, Coimbatore, Nagpur and Lucknow, bringing the total number of cities it operates in India to 15. The company claims, it has over 35,000 restaurant partners and a delivery fleet of over 40,000 riders across the cities it operates in.
The return of investor confidence in India’s online food-ordering space is largely being driven by the stickiness of customers that platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato have shown. Even after the bloodbath of 2016 and drying up of funds which led both players to cut their burn rate, they were still able to attract customers to order food through them.
With the return of capital into this space, experts and industry watchers expect there to be a land grab between the top players through major discounting. All players have already slashed delivery costs and are pushing more offers to customers since the start of 2018. UberEats, the newest entrant is also rapidly scaling up its operations in major metros.
“This infusion of capital, making Swiggy the best-funded food delivery platform in India, ensures that ambitious plans for broadening their platform and expanding their reach across India will be realized,” said Larry Illg, CEO of Naspers Ventures.
Apart from the two marquee investors who led the latest round, Swiggy also roped in China’s Meituan-Dianping, which made its debut as an investor in the company in the February round, along with new investor Coatue Management.
Avendus was the financial advisor to Swiggy on the transaction.
Sources confirmed that the fresh capital was raised at a valuation of $1.3 billion, making Swiggy the most valuable player in the space. The latest round comes just four months after the Bengaluru-based company raised $100 million led by its biggest backer Naspers.
Swiggy is shoring up on capital to defend its position as India’s largest food-ordering app as rivals Zomato and FoodPanda begin eyeing growth after receiving funding as well. While FoodPanda’s India business has been acquired by ride-hailing giant Ola, Zomato recently received $150 million in funding from Alibaba subsidiary Ant Financials.
“With this investment, we will continue to widen Swiggy’s offerings, along with bolstering our capabilities and plugging the gaps in the on-demand delivery ecosystem,” said Sriharsha Majety, co-founder and CEO of Swiggy, in a statement.
The company said the latest round of funding will help it grow its supply chain and enter new markets. Since February, Swiggy has launched its services in Kochi, Coimbatore, Nagpur and Lucknow, bringing the total number of cities it operates in India to 15. The company claims, it has over 35,000 restaurant partners and a delivery fleet of over 40,000 riders across the cities it operates in.
The return of investor confidence in India’s online food-ordering space is largely being driven by the stickiness of customers that platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato have shown. Even after the bloodbath of 2016 and drying up of funds which led both players to cut their burn rate, they were still able to attract customers to order food through them.
With the return of capital into this space, experts and industry watchers expect there to be a land grab between the top players through major discounting. All players have already slashed delivery costs and are pushing more offers to customers since the start of 2018. UberEats, the newest entrant is also rapidly scaling up its operations in major metros.
“This infusion of capital, making Swiggy the best-funded food delivery platform in India, ensures that ambitious plans for broadening their platform and expanding their reach across India will be realized,” said Larry Illg, CEO of Naspers Ventures.
Apart from the two marquee investors who led the latest round, Swiggy also roped in China’s Meituan-Dianping, which made its debut as an investor in the company in the February round, along with new investor Coatue Management.
Avendus was the financial advisor to Swiggy on the transaction.
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