Swiggy has raised $1.2 billion in funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Prosus

BENGALURU: Swiggy has raised $1.2 billion in funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Prosus to accelerate growth in food delivery and invests in non-food categories. Existing investors, Accel Partners and Wellington Management also participated in the round.
Last week, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved SoftBank Vision Fund II's investment into Swiggy. Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is making its first big bet in India’s food-tech sector, investing between $400-$500 million in the Bengaluru-based food delivery startup, valuing it at $5.5 billion, sources said.SoftBank has previously invested in US food delivery startup DoorDash, which recently went public. SoftBank-backed Uber’s food delivery business under UberEats has also shown a significant uptick in the US market.
In addition, Swiggy welcomed new investors Qatar Investment Authority, Falcon Edge Capital, Amansa Capital, Goldman Sachs, Think Investments and Carmignac. Swiggy said the latest fund-raise was oversubscribed following strong interest from investors, and comes on the back of Swiggy’s rapid recovery from the impacts of Covid-19 and subsequent growth in the last financial year.
This investment will further accelerate Swiggy’s multi-year strategy of growing its core food delivery business and building new food and non-food adjacencies this year and beyond.
Swiggy has launched instant grocery delivery service, Instamart, is growing rapidly to create the convenience grocery category within India’s massive grocery delivery segment. It has also expanded its pick-up and drop service, Swiggy Genie, to 65 cities and deepened the presence of its meat delivery service in key markets. Supr Daily, Swiggy’s daily grocery delivery service, present across major Indian cities, is reaching new users every month.
To support this, Swiggy will enhance its capabilities in technology and AI, and strengthen teams across engineering, product, data science and analytics as well as in business and supply chain for its newer initiatives. “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,” said Sriharsha Majety, CEO, Swiggy. “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. I am confident that we will continue to achieve new growth milestones while holding the responsibility to build a vibrant ecosystem for millions of consumers, as well as our restaurant and delivery partners,” he added.
In India, the online food delivery volumes have surpassed the pre-Covid-19 volumes of last year. With a strong second wave of Covid-19 cases currently, food delivery platforms are expected to see further growth. Swiggy is also expanding its grocery delivery offering through Instamart aggressively.
Munish Varma, a managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, said, “SoftBank has successfully backed multiple food delivery platforms globally and seen the value of providing high quality convenience to consumers. Swiggy’s focus on evolving the consumer experience, and its emphasis on relationships with its delivery partners and restaurants, have made it a household brand in India. We are excited to partner with Swiggy as they increase their service offerings and daily consumer touchpoints in the rapidly developing digital economy.”
Swiggy has over 5,000 employees with a network of 2 lakh delivery executives. It has 1.2 lakh restaurant partners and caters to over 500 cities across India. Swiggy aims to be the most accessible platform on the network - hyperlocal, horizontal and across categories.