Swiggy raises $1bn in its largest funding round yet
Months after entering India's unicorn club, food delivery platform Swiggy has raised a whopping $1bn in fresh capital from existing and new investors. The funding, which is Swiggy's biggest till date, has taken the startup to a valuation of $3.3bn, making it India's fifth-most valuable startup. Astonishingly, Swiggy has achieved all this in a mere five years. Here are the details.
"As we add more firepower to our vision of elevating quality of life for urban consumers by offering unparalleled convenience, we're pleased that visionary global investors share our purpose and have made such a significant investment in our future," said Swiggy CEO Sriharsha Majety.
Swiggy's $1bn investment round was led by investors such as Naspers Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd. The startup's last round of funding had come in June, wherein it had raised $210mn. The June funding round had taken Swiggy into the Indian unicorn club (startups valued above $1bn). Currently, only Paytm, Ola, OYO Rooms, and Byju's are ahead of Swiggy in terms of startup valuation.
"We first partnered with Swiggy in April 2017 because we recognized the Swiggy team had built a sustainable, long-term business, that stood out among others in India. Now, nearly two years later, we have even more confidence Swiggy has the winning formula," said Naspers.
Notably, with the latest funding round, Swiggy has seen its valuation soar by almost five times this year - in February, the startup was valued at $700mn, and in June, it was valued at $1.3bn. The mega funding round also gives Swiggy a significant advantage over Gurugram-based rivals Zomato. While Swiggy has raised $1.31bn over three funding rounds, Zomato has raised only $410mn.
"Swiggy has 10x the number of orders per month since our first investment, has expanded throughout India to tier 1, 2 and 3 cities, and most importantly, is the most loved food delivery brand in India, providing the best service to consumers nationwide," added Naspers.
Reportedly, Swiggy plans to use the fresh funds to add more quality food brands. Further, it plans to augment supply through deliver-only kitchens under its 'Access' initiative for restaurant partners. Yet that's not all. Most notably, Swiggy plans to improve the tech side of its platform, with a focus on building a next-generation AI-driven platform for hyperlocal discovery of eateries, and on-demand delivery.
