Swiggy lands $700 million funding as rival Zomato sinks to record low

Food delivery startup Swiggy on Monday raised $700 million in funding led by US-based asset management firm Invesco even as rival Zomato's shares fell to an all-time low amid tech selloff.

The fundraising makes Swiggy the latest company to join the 'decacorn club' – privately-held companies valued at $10 billion or more.

The Bengaluru-based startup's valuation has likely doubled to $10.7 billion with the funding round, several media reports said citing sources privy to the matter. The company, however, hasn’t disclosed its valuation.

Swiggy had closed a $1.25 billion round from SoftBank, Accel and existing investors Prosus, Accel Partners, among others in July last year. It had valued the company at $5.5 billion.

"The GMV (gross merchandise value) our food delivery business achieved in 40 months, took Instamart just 17 months, demonstrating the platform benefits of Swiggy," says Sriharsha Majety, co-founder and chief executive at Swiggy. "We will double down on this to build more categories in line with our mission of offering unparalleled convenience to Indian consumers."

This comes weeks after the startup earmarked investments worth $700 million for its express grocery delivery service Instamart.

Swiggy Instamart—which claims to have already garnered about two million transacting users—plans to make deliveries in 15 minutes by widening its network of dark stores. Launched in August 2020, the quick commerce service began with two markets -- Gurugram and Bengaluru -- where it offered deliveries within 30-45 minutes.

As it gained traction, the company prioritised making deliveries within 15-30 minutes. Currently, Instamart services 18 Indian cities, and fulfils more than one million orders per week. The platform offers an assortment of products across categories ranging from fresh fruits and vegetables to personal and baby care.

"Our goal is to make Swiggy the platform that 100 million consumers can use 15 times a month. We will continue to invest in our people, products, and partners to create a positive impact on the ecosystem and accelerate the digital transformation in food and grocery delivery and other on-demand services," says Majety.

The move to expedite deliveries comes amid growing competition in the space. While the quick commerce segment has seen the entry of new players like Zepto, which has already expanded to five cities within months of launch; established companies like Blinkit (formerly Grofers) are betting big on the category. Blinkit is aggressively pushing its 10-minute delivery strategy.

According to a study by market research firm RedSeer Consulting, the quick commerce market in India has the potential to touch $5 billion by 2025.

Meanwhile, its public-listed rival Zomato's shares fell to their lowest level since listing on Monday as investors dumped tech stocks due to sky-high valuations.

Shares of Zomato tanked 20% to 91 apiece on BSE, bringing down its market capitalisation to 71,629 crore from over ₹1 lakh crore at the time of listing in July last year.