Swiggy raises $113 million funding led by its existing investor Naspers

Food delivery platformSwiggy has raised $113 million at a close to $3.3 billion valuation led by its largest existing investor and South African internet giant Naspers. Other existing investors Hadley Harbour Master Investments and Meituan also participated in the round, regulatory filings show. About $100 million of the investment has come from Naspers which holds over 40% stake in the company.

Swiggy's valuation has been largely flat from its previous $1billion round in December 2018 which too was led by Naspers, along with China’s Tencent, Hillhouse Capital, and Wellington Management.

This also comes in a month after rival Zomato acquired UberEats India operations for a 10% equity stake. Uber Eats has since then ceased to exist as a separate brand locally with users being redirected to Zomato’s app. Weeks prior to the deal, Zomato raised $150 million from existing investor Ant Financial, an Alibaba affiliate at a $3 billion valuation.

Swiggy will, however, need a large war chest to build a consumer-facing logistics network as it expands its footprint across the country, especially in smaller towns and cities and in parallel also scales up its services beyond food delivery. The company has over the last few months started grocery delivery service Swiggy Stores, concierge service Swiggy Go as well as scaled-up SuperDaily - its everyday micro delivery service. “

Earlier this year, ET reported that after eighteen months of exponential growth in order numbers hurt by the slowdown in consumer spending, coupled with major players like Zomato, Swiggy, and UberEats cutting discounts and promotions.

Source:- Economic Times