Indian grocery startup BigBasket raises US$150M in lastest funding round
Supermarket Grocery, which runs and operates the Indian grocery delivery startup BigBasket, has raised US$150 million in a financing round led by South Korea’s Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund, the U.K.’s CDC Group, and existing investor Alibaba
This round has reportedly boosted the company’s valuation to over US$1 billion, LiveMint reported.
Big Basket plans to use the newly-infused funds to deepen its presence in existing markets with development in its first mile, scaling up supply chain capabilities and developing new reseller channels.
“We have a unique opportunity to build one of the largest grocery businesses in the country in the country and we expect the capital raised in this round to continue to enable us to do just that," VS Sudhakar, co-founder of BigBasket, was quoted as saying.
This investment also marks Mirae Asset Financial Group’s largest investment in the Indian internet sector. The company invests in life insurance, securities and venture capital, and has become one of the world’s largest investors in emerging market equities. As of December 2018, they managed assets worth a total of $128.5 billion.
“Big Basket offers a transformational and convenient experience to its consumers, which makes it a preferred grocery platform," Ashish Dave, head of India investments for Mirae Asset Global Investments, was quoted as saying. “As India moves towards organised retail that offers standardised quality, comfort and speed in the shopping experience, we firmly believe the Big Basket brand will continue to define this segment as a category leader."
Big Basket last raised US$300 million in February 2018 as part of its series E financing which was led by the Alibaba Group. This round that also included an element of secondary shares, gave the company a post-money valuation of US$850 million.
Big Basket competes with the likes of SoftBank-backed Grofers, Walmart-backed Flipkart, and Amazon. The funding will help Big Basket battle these companies which have deep pockets and have been aggressively growing in this sector.