Swiggy Raises $1 Billion, Biggest Funding In Food-Tech Till Now; Bets Big On AI Driven Food Delivery

Bengaluru based food delivery app Swiggy has successfully raised $1 billion, which makes their valuation as $3.3 billion.

This is the biggest VC funding any food-tech startup has raised till now, in India.

With this funding, Swiggy has become India’s 5th most valuable startup after Paytm, Oyo, Ola, Byju’s.

$1 Billion VC Funding For Swiggy

This is their Series H funding, which was led by their existing investor Naspers, and supported by other existing investors such as DST Global, Meituan Dianping and Coatue Management, along with new investors Tencent, Hillhouse Capital and Wellington Management Company.

In June this year, they had become a Unicorn (India’s 12th Unicorn) startup, after receiving an investment of $210 million.

Hence, this year alone, Swiggy’s valuation has increased by 5-times: Such rapid expansion of valuation has never been seen before.

Sriharsha Majety, CEO, Swiggy said, “As we add more firepower to our vision of elevating quality of life for urban consumers by offering unparalleled convenience, we’re pleased that visionary global investors share our purpose and have made such a significant investment in our future.”

Out of $1 billion VC funding, $800 million will be primary capital or fresh funds.

With this funding, Swiggy has now raised total of $1.26 billion as VC funding.

Swiggy Betting Big On AI, Machine Learning Driven Delivery?

As per the press release, this fresh round of funding will be used to ramp up their hyperlocal discovery and on-demand food delivery using AI and Machine Learning.

Their technological team will be strengthened and expanded to incubate exciting AI-driven technologies, which will help them to deliver on-demand food faster.

Besides, Swiggy will also kickstart their new initiative called ‘Access’ with the help of restaurant partners, which will incorporate ‘delivery-only’ kitchens to address the gap in supply. More details are awaited.

Swiggy’s Unstoppable Growth Continues

Since their last round of funding, they have now expanded to 42 more cities, and have roped in 120,000 active delivery partners. Their GMV has doubled too.

Now, Swiggy has 50,000+ restaurant partners, covering 50+ Indian cities.

As per Larry Illg, chief executive officer (food and ventures) at Naspers, Swiggy has increased their daily order volumes by 10X, since their first investment made last year.

Now, all eyes are set on Zomato, which had raised $410 million in two rounds this year, and considered a bigger rival in food delivery business.

Besides, the rise of UberEats in India, and Ola’s foray into food delivery makes food-tech the most exciting niche in India right now. Ola has already acquired Foodpanda, triggering a new round of consolidations in the industry.

We will keep you updated, as more details come in.

Also Read: Restaurants Rebel Against Swiggy, Uber Eats, Zomato, Food Panda; Kochi Declares Food App Ban