Swiggy on Thursday announced Series G funding led by existing investor Naspers and a new investor – Hong Kong-based Internet investment group DST Global. The Indian online food delivery service provider said that it has raised $210 million, roughly Rs. 1,431 crores, just a couple of months after it had bagged $100 million (roughly Rs. 642 crores) in funding from Meituan Dianping and South African Internet and entertainment group Naspers itself. Swiggy says that the latest round of funding will also see participation from Meituan-Dianping and a new investor, Coatue Management. Rival Zomatorecently received an investment of $150 million (roughly Rs. 977 crores) from a unit of China’s Alibaba Group Holding that valued the delivery service provider at over $1 billion (roughly Rs. 6,500 crores). Meanwhile, in its latest announcement, Swiggy said that it will use the funding to “further augment on-demand delivery technology and broaden Swiggy’s product and service offerings.”
With over 35,000 restaurants and a delivery fleet of over 40,000 partners, Swiggy claims that it has seen a three-fold increase in revenues in the last financial year. The latest round of funding, Swiggy says, will enable it to ramp up its supply chain network and expand to new markets, while also investing more in terms of consumer experience. The company also wants to increase its technology headcount to build for “robust operations, deep personalisation and connected supply chain systems.”
“With this investment, we will continue to widen Swiggy’s offerings, along with bolstering our capabilities and plugging the gaps in the on-demand delivery ecosystem,” said Sriharsha Majety, CEO, Swiggy. “Continual trust from globally reputed investors strengthen our core objective of enriching the lives of our consumers and partners by making our services more convenient and hassle-free.”
Since the last round of funding in February, Swiggy claims that it has started operations in more cities such as Kochi, Coimbatore, Nagpur, and Lucknow. It has also introduced more payment options for both consumers and delivery partners. Recently, the company also rolled out Swiggy POP and Swiggy Scheduled features in its app to bring more “availability, affordability, choice and convenience of food.”
Larry Illg, CEO of Naspers Ventures, said, “Swiggy has the best technology platform in the market and when combined with its business model, which caters to the unique demands of the Indian ecosystem, enables the company to deliver the best possible service to Indian consumers.” He added, “This infusion of capital, making Swiggy the best-funded food delivery platform in India, ensures that ambitious plans for broadening their platform and expanding their reach across India will be realised.”
Meanwhile, Saurabh Gupta, Managing Partner at DST Global, said Swiggy is transforming the way food is delivered in India. Swiggy’s rapid growth, along with highly engaged users, restaurants and delivery partners, shows the strong value proposition they have for all participants in the ecosystem. We are delighted to partner with Harsha and the team at Swiggy and support them as they create the on-demand commerce platform for India.”
Aside from Zomato, other companies that rival Swiggy in the food delivery space include Foodpanda India and more recently, Uber Eats.
