India’s largest food delivery company Swiggy has reportedly raised an amount of $1 billion in a fresh funding round. The round was led by existing backer, South African media giant Naspers.
Along with this, the new investors that participated in the round included China’s Tencent and hedge funds Hillhouse Capital and Wellington Management.
With this new round, the valuation of the five-year-old Bengaluru-based startup has increased to $3.3 billion. The company has seen its valuation swell by close to 5 times this year. It was valued at $1.3 billion in June this year and $700 million in February.
The recent round also includes a secondary share sale by some of Swiggy’s early investors. Along with further pushing into the food delivery business, the company will also use the funds raised to expand into new businesses.
“Swiggy will use the funds to bring more quality food brands closer to consumers and address gaps in supply through delivery-only kitchens under the ‘Access’ initiative for restaurant partners,” said the company in a statement, adding that it will also use the capital to strengthen its team and invest in “its technology backbone and focus on building a next-generation AI-driven platform for hyperlocal discovery and on-demand delivery.”
Swiggy said it has expanded to 42 additional cities and doubled in gross merchandise value in the last six months.
Swiggy first raised capital from Naspers earlier in April 2017 and since then the firm has led its last three rounds of funding. Avendus Capital was the financial advisor to the transaction
“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,” said Larry Illg, CEO, Food and Ventures, Naspers.