Sequoia, SAIF in $36m Series B for India's PepperTap
PepperTap, an India-based hyperlocal online grocery delivery start-up, has raised a $36 million Series B round led by online marketplace Snapdeal, with participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital and SAIF Partners.
New investors Ru-Net, the Russian technology investor, and Japanese firms BeeNext and Jafco also participated. PepperTap plans to raise a further $20 million in the next few weeks, according to a story in The Economic Times, linked from SAIF's website.
The company will use the new capital to expand into more cities in India; it hopes to operate in 75 cities by the end of this fiscal year. It will also invest in its technology and supply chain and double its team to 5,000 by December.
Snapdeal plans to help PepperTap integrate with online wallet operator FreeCharge, which it bought earlier this year. The integration would involve offering the FreeCharge service as PepperTap's preferred wallet, along with offering PepperTap's service to Snapdeal's 90 million registered users.
PepperTap is one of several hyperlocal online grocery platforms in India to have received VC funding. These services are meant to appeal to Indian customers who are not satisfied with the selection at their local markets, and who are increasingly web-savvy thanks to the proliferation of mobile phones.
Notable VC-backed companies in this space include Grofers, which has raised more than $45 million across two rounds, and BigBasket, which has raised more than $90 million over three rounds.
PepperTap's previous funding rounds include a $10 million Series A from Sequoia and SAIF in April, and a $1.2 million round from Sequoia in February.
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