Sands Capital leads $70m round for India's BlackBuck

Existing investors also took part in the round, according to a release which did not identify the other participants. BlackBuck’s previous backers include Tiger Global, Accel Partners, and Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart, all of which contributed to the company’s $25 million Series B round in 2015. In addition, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) proposed a $10 million investment in BlackBuck’s parent Zinka Logistics earlier this year. It is not clear if IFC participated in the Series C round.

BlackBuck will use the new capital to scale up operations and improve its technology platform. Through its online marketplace the company helps to match long-haul trucking service providers with clients. Currently more than 100,000 trucks can be booked through the platform, whose users include Unilever, Coca-Cola and the Godrej conglomerate.

“BlackBuck has made solid headway in making India's highly unorganized trucking industry more efficient through technology. Its tech innovations have helped several industries, from manufacturing to FMCG [fast-moving consumer goods] to e-commerce, realize seamless road transportation of goods,” said Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal. “The latest investment builds on that progress and ties in with Flipkart's strategy of developing the start-up ecosystem in supply chain and logistics even further.”

BlackBuck is one of several VC-backed technology start-ups developing solutions aimed at improving performance in India’s logistics sector. Others include logistics marketplaces Porter and LetsTransport. On the trucking side, Warburg Pincus recently backed Stellar Supply Chain Solutions and Rivigo.

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• Topics
• South Asia
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• India
• Logistics
• Growth capital
• Venture