The big news doing rounds today is that, Bangalore-based online grocery store, BigBasket has raised USD 5 million from Helion Venture Partners.
Bigbasket has raised this funding at a time when rival Grofers India has pumped in USD 14.7 million from its Singapore-based parent company Grofers International.
The funding has been raised through allotment of 50,000 shares at approximately USD 100 (INR 6,509.25) each on September 27, 2017, according to the company's registrar of companies (RoC) filing. Other existing investors like Trifecta Capital, Brand Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Ascent Capital, among others also participated in the round. MediaNama has reached out to BigBasket for statement on this development, we will update as soon as we hear back from them.
What is noteworthy is that online grocer Grofers too has raised funding of USD 14.7 million from its Singapore-based parent company Grofers International at the same time. The fresh funding may revive Grofers, as in January 2016, Grofers shut down its services in 9 cities citing low acceptance. The company had expanded to these Tier II cities, including Ludhiana, Bhopal, Kochi, Coimbatore and Visakhapatnam in September 2015. Grofers, however, relaunched operations in Ludhiana, Bhopal and Kochi along with several other cities in January 2017 and is currently live in 26 cities.
Both the startups have been in a locked horn state in the battle for a long time as they prepare to enter the country's food retail sector. The domestic online retail industry is evolving into a hyperlocal, on-demand market. India's ecommerce market is estimated to grow 15 times to USD 300 billion by 2030. The Indian online grocery market is estimated to reach USD 40 million by FY '19 growing at a CAGR of 62% from 2016 to 2022. And, the latest fundings in Grofers and Bigbasket come at a time when the country's online grocery market is brimming with potential.
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