Swiggy, popular food ordering and delivering platform has recorded the raise of $1.25 billion in a funding round led by Softbank Vision Fund 2 and Prosus. This is the first investment in the Indian food delivery category by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, the company said in a release. Existing investors Accel Partners and Wellington Management also participated in the funding round.
As per the statement released by the company, “In addition, Swiggy welcomed new investors Qatar Investment Authority, Falcon Edge Capital, Amansa Capital, Goldman Sachs, Think Investments and Carmignac. The funding round saw strong interest from investors and was heavily oversubscribed. The investment will further accelerate its multi-year strategy of growing its core food delivery business and building new food and non-food adjacencies in 2021 and beyond.”
Swiggy said it will enhance its capabilities in technology and artifical intelligence, and strengthen teams across engineering, product, data science and analytics as well as in business and supply chain for its newer initiatives. Besides food delivery, Swiggy also offers instant grocery delivery service through Instamart and has also expanded its pick-up and drop service, Swiggy Genie, to 65 cities. It has also deepened the presence of its meat delivery service in key markets.
Detailing about the development, Swiggy CEO Sriharsha Majety said, “The scope of food delivery in India is massive and over the next few years, we will continue to invest aggressively into growing this category. Our biggest investments will be in our non-food businesses that have witnessed tremendous consumer love and growth in a short span, especially in the past 15 months of the pandemic.”
Majety further added, “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.”
