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Google has decided to write another check for another Indian startup. Last year, the Android maker, which announced a $ 10 billion fund to invest in the world’s second-largest Internet market, previously supported South India on January 19th. Bangalore-based company Hyperlocal Delivery Startup Dunzo has announced that it will participate in a $ 40 million investment round.
According to Dunzo, five years old, Google, Lightbox, Evolvence, Hana Financial Investment, LGT Lightstone Aspada, Alteria and others have participated in Series E funding rounds, raising to date 123100 It is said that it has reached 10,000 dollars (about 12.5 billion yen).
Dunzo operates its eponymous hyper-local delivery service in more than a dozen cities in India, including Bangalore, Delhi, Noida, Pune, Gurgaon, Powai, Hyderabad and Chennai. Users have access to a wide range of items in several categories, from groceries, perishables, pet supplies, medicines to dinners from nearby stores and restaurants.
Industry estimates show that e-commerce accounts for less than 3% of total retail sales in India. Most of India’s sales are driven by tens of thousands of municipalities and villages in the country, small family-owned shops scattered across slums, and other nearby stores.
In a sense, Dunzo is rethinking how e-commerce and delivery should be in India. This will challenge local grocery and daily necessities delivery startups such as Swiggy, Zomato, BigBasket, and Grofers, as well as Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart. Many people also use Dunzo to pick up random items such as laptop chargers, wallets, and lunch boxes from one point in the city and move them to another.
In a statement, Google Vice President Caesar Sengupta said, “As vendors become more digital, Danzo is helping small and medium-sized businesses realize digital transformation and helping them recover.” It has said. “Through our India Digitization Fund, we are committed to partnering with innovative Indian start-ups to build a truly comprehensive digital economy that benefits everyone.”
Dunzo co-founder and CEO Kabeer Biswas said the company has grown its annual GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) business to about $ 100 million. (GMV used to be a popular indicator that many e-commerce companies relied on to show growth, but it’s one of the nonsensical ways to measure startup growth. Most organizations No longer using GMV. Moreover, when startups use GMV, it traditionally meant they were still far from profitable (as is the case with Dunzo).
“Dunzo’s organizational goals have struck a chord with consumers more than ever in 2020. I’m amazed at everything that vendors and users have begun to rely on the company’s platform. We work with Sustainable Unit Economics. We sincerely believe that we are writing a playbook on how to build a hyper-local business with capital responsibility. As a team, local vendors can get closer to users and build one of the country’s most beloved consumer brands. We will continue to focus more than ever, “Biswas said in a statement.
Google invested $ 4.5 billion in Jio Platforms last year and recently backed social news apps Daily Hunt and Glance. Glance is part of the advertising giant InMobi Group, which is actively expanding the way Android users display content on their lock screens. As TechCrunch reported earlier this month, Google is also in talks with local social media ShareChat, which could invest more than $ 100 million in the Indian startup alone. Google’s interest in ShareChat has previously been reported by the local media, The Economic Times and ET Now.
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