Walmart’s Flipkart has backed Shadowfax in a new $60 million financing round as the retail giant works to strengthen its logistics network in the nation.
Flipkart, which alone contributed $30 million, led the Series D financing round for the three-year-old Bangalore-based startup, Shadowfax co-founder and chief executive Abhishek Bansal told TechCrunch in an interview.
Existing investors NGP Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, Mirae Asset, and Eight Roads Ventures also participated in the round, which brings the startup’s total raise to date to $100 million. The new round valued Shadowfax at about $250 million, two people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. The startup declined to comment on the valuation.
Shadowfax operates an unusually built business-to-business logistics network in over 300 cities in India. The startup works with neighbourhood stores to use their real estate to store inventory, and a large network of freelancers who do the delivery. “Anyone with a bicycle or a bike can join our platform and deliver items for us,” said Shadowfax’s Bansal. The startup has also setup its own warehouses and fulfilment hubs.
“So we have not built any assets on the ground. We are essentially bringing the inefficiency of the market on to the platform and catering large enterprises,” he said.
This logistics network can handle goods in a range of categories including hot food, grocery and e-commerce. Flipkart and food delivery startup Swiggy are among its “hundreds” of clients, he said.
“It’s a very reliable logistics network. And each grocery store is only serving to users in a kilometre radius, so the delivery could be incredibly quick. These grocery stores, whose staff also often participate in delivery, only have to work with us for a few hours in a day, so it’s a quick way for them to make extra money,” he said.
More to follow…
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