Vision Fund, Prosus lead $1.25b round for India's Swiggy

Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Falcon Edge Capital, Amansa Capital, Goldman Sachs, Think Investments and Carmignac came in as new investors, while Accel Partners and Wellington Management both re-upped. It follows a $113 million Series I round led by Prosus in February 2020 and a $43 million commitment from several Korean investors two months later.

The round also coincides with a $1.3 billion domestic IPO by Zomato, Swiggy’s main competitor. Pricing for the offering – said to be heavily oversubscribed – will be finalized this week. It is likely to be the first in a spate of India technology IPOs, with the likes of digital payments platforms Paytm and Mobikwik submitting filings recently.

Founded in 2014, Swiggy connects consumers to more than 150,000 restaurant partners and stores in over 500 cities. Orders are fulfilled by a dedicated fleet of delivery drivers engaged on a one-to-one basis. The company – which receives commissions on transactions – sets no minimum order value and offers live order tracking and round-the-clock customer support. 

According to a statement, the latest round was heavily oversubscribed, following strong interest from investors on the back of Swiggy’s rapid recovery from COVID-19. The company claims that its instant grocery and daily grocery delivery services – Instamart and Supr Daily – are expanding rapidly. Meanwhile, pick-up and drop service Swiggy Genie has expanded into 65 cities and deepened its presence in the meat delivery segment.

The new capital will support growth of Swiggy’s core food delivery business and expansion into non-food adjacencies in 2021 and beyond. The company is investing heavily in technology and artificial intelligence capabilities, as well as strengthening its engineering, product development, data science, and analytics teams.

“I believe the next 10-15 years offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for companies like Swiggy as the Indian middle class expands and our target segment for convenience grows to 500 million users. I am confident that we will continue to achieve new growth milestones while holding the responsibility to build a vibrant ecosystem for millions of consumers, as well as our restaurant and delivery partners,” said Sriharsha Majety, the company’s CEO.

The investment represents the first in India’s food delivery space by the Vision Fund franchise, although it has considerable exposure to the segment globally. Munish Varma, a managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, said that Swiggy’s success thus far derives from a focus on the evolving consumer experience and an emphasis on relationships with delivery partners and restaurants.

Swiggy has now raised nearly $3 billion since inception. Other backers include Coatue Management, DST Global, Hillhouse Capital, Accel Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Harmony Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, and SAIF Partners. The Korean investors that came in last year were Ark Impact, Korea Investment Partners, Samsung Ventures and Mirae Asset Capital Markets.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Expansion
• Technology
• Consumer
• India
• TMT
• Growth capital
• Prosus Ventures
• QIA
• Softbank
• Falcon Edge Capital
• Goldman Sachs
• Wellington Management
• Accel Partners