New Delhi-based logistics aggregator Shiprocket has landed USD 13 million in Series C funding led by Silicon Valley-headquartered venture capital firm Tribe Capital and venture debt firm Innoven Capital. Its existing investor Bertelsmann India Investment also participated in this funding round.
As part of the agreement, Arjun Sethi from Tribe Capital LLC will join Shiprocket’s board of directors, the startup said in a statement.
The logistics startup plans to use fresh funds for strengthening the data science and engineering team, product development, and international expansion.
The company said the investment will be used to fuel its product development, hire top talent across the data science and engineering domains. The funds will also be focused on the company’s new initiatives including its international expansion.
“This additional capital will allow us to accelerate our strategic goals and product development endeavors by hiring top talent in key areas,” said Saahil Goel, CEO and co-founder, Shiprocket.
The recent round brings the company’s total funding to USD 26 million to date. This round of funding saw the company’s angel investors such as Jatin Aneja and 5ideas run by Gaurav Kachru and Pearl Uppal make an exit with a 30X return in five years of their investment. Besides Bertelsmann India Investment, its previous investors include Nirvana Venture Partners, Beenext, and 500 Startups.
Shiprocket’s parent company Bigfoot Retail Solution Pvt. Ltd, was founded by Gautam Kapoor and Goel in 2011. It used to offer an e-commerce solution called KartRocket to help small and medium sellers set up their brands online. Later, the company re-branded KartRocket as ShipRocket360.
In 2017, Bigfoot Retail Solutions launched Shiprocket, a technology-led logistics solutions company and roped in Vishesh Khurana as its third co-founder. The platform, on the behalf of physical shop owners, online marketplaces, social sellers, and high volume shippers negotiates fees with last-mile delivery providers, as well as provide live tracking of their shipments.
The company works with 17 logistics companies such as FedEx, BlueDart, Delhivery, Shadowfax, Gati, DHL, and Online Express among others. Shiprocket claims its technology platform connects merchants, consumers, and supply chain partners across 26,000 pin codes across India and over 220 countries.
“We invested in Shiprocket because they empower the small to medium businesses that truly represent the heart and soul of any emerging economy,” said Arjun Sethi, co-founder, Tribe Capital. “Today, the SME segment lacks capital finance and credit, infrastructure, technology, and marketing strategies. Shiprocket has enabled these businesses to grow at a time of emerging competition enabled by mobile internet and corporations.”
The logistics aggregator said it processes more than two million monthly shipments, catering to 35,000 sellers to sell directly to their consumers. According to the company, it turned profitable in FY 18-19 with an annualized revenue run rate of USD 25-30 million.
Over the last few years, logistics startups in the country have grabbed the attention of global investors. In 2019, they had raised USD 1.04 billion across 29 deals.
