According to the reports in November 2021, Blinkit, the quick commerce company that was once Grofers, shall see an invested of 500 million $ from Zomato. However, the markets turned volatile and played havoc with Zomato’s share price. With that round now set to be renegotiated, Blinkit has raised $100 million through convertible notes from Zomato for the time being.
Albinder Dhindsa, cofounder and chief executive told employees on Thursday that as a part of its ongoing fundraise, an additional deal of 100 million$ has been closed by Blinkit.
People who are aware of this fundraise said that the funds are being raised through convertible notes from Zomato, which will later be converted into equity.
A person privy to the knowledge said that this is a part of a larger $400-million funding Blinkit is looking to raise from Zomato and other investors, which is expected to close in the next two quarters
It is in addition to the $100 million
that Zomato invested in the company and its wholesale entity Hands on Trades
last year, catapulting the quick commerce startup’s valuation
to $1 billion. In the month of August last year, the Competition Commission of India (CCI)
approved the investment.
Zomato, while announcing its December quarter results
said that the company would continue to be bullish on quick commerce and would
go onto invest an additional 400million$ over the period of next two years.
Delayed Fundraise Due to Market Volatility
Volatility in the public markets and its effect on Zomato’s share price has delayed the round, which was expected to close this month.
A source said that “The market conditions have affected Zomato, and thus Blinkit’s planned fundraising. The funding is expected to be negotiated again, with fresh terms. To go ahead with its plans, Blinkit, for now, has raised the first tranche of $100 million from Zomato”.
In order to push its quick commerce ambitions, it was reported that in November Zomato would invest 500million$ in Blinkit. This would then potentially bring the valuation of the company at $1.5 billion. In the last month, company said that the company has also raised the upper limit of its potential investments in the quick commerce segment.
Previously owing to a sell-off in tech stocks, and now the increased volatility due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the stocks of Zomato have shed over 41% in the past three months.
Other Deals in ETech
- With the participation of from Makers Fund, Catamaran Ventures, Korea Investment Partners, Krafton, Lumikai, and Hiro Capital, Game streaming platform Loco said it has raised $42 million (Rs 330 crore) in a funding round led by crypto major Hashed.
- As a part of funding round led by South Korean gaming giant Krafton, Audio content platform Kuku FM has raised $19.5 million. New investors include Founder Bank Capital and Verlinvest and the round also saw participation from its existing investors including 3one4 Capital, Vertex Ventures, and India Quotient.
- Tecxpryt, a software as a service (Saas)-based communication platform has been acquired by the Fresh produce supply chain startup Ninjacart. Though the transaction size has not been disclosed by the company, as a part of the deal, entire team of Tecxprt will join Ninjacart.
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