Tag: zepto

Swiggy Said to Have Initiated Talks for IPO Plans, Eyes Stock Listing in 2024

Swiggy, the Softbank-backed food delivery company, is eyeing a 2024 stock market listing and has initiated talks with bankers to assess its valuation, after halting the process for months due to weak markets, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Swiggy, which delivers food from restaurants and also groceries, was valued at $10.7 billion (nearly Rs. 88,350 crore) in its last fundraising in 2022 but like many Indian startups put its IPO plans on hold amid a funding crunch and investor concerns about stretched valuations.

But as global and Indian markets have rebounded Swiggy has restarted its IPO planning by inviting eight investment banks to make pitches in early September to work on the IPO, including Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Bank of America, two of the sources said. 

Swiggy is using the last funding round valuation of $10.7 billion as a benchmark for IPO planning, said one of the sources, who is directly involved in the planning process. But this source said the company has yet to decide on a potential stake sale or final valuation. 

Invesco, a minor shareholder in Swiggy, in May valued the Indian company at around $5.5 billion (nearly Rs. 45,400 crore), it said in a filing. 

Swiggy had initially considered raising $800 million (nearly Rs. 6,600 crore) to $1 billion (nearly Rs. 8,260 crore) via the IPO, banking sources who worked on it in early 2022 have said. 

Swiggy, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley did not respond to requests for comment, while Bank of America declined to comment.

The three sources said Swiggy is aiming to list between July-September 2024 which would be after national elections in India due by May.

Swiggy rival Zomato‘s shares have risen 54.8 percent so far this year, in a sign that investor confidence is returning to India’s financial markets.

On Friday, Indian grocery startup Zepto said it has raised $200 million (nearly Rs. 1,650 crore) in fresh funding at a valuation of $1.4 billion (nearly Rs. 11,560 crore), making it the first Indian startup to cross the billion-dollar valuation mark in nearly a year.

Swiggy in May said its core food delivery business had turned profitable, nine years after starting operations, even as its newer grocery delivery service, Instamart, continues to make losses.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

 

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Yulu Plans to Expand Operations in India and Abroad, Expects to Turn Profitable

E-bike rental startup Yulu, which is looking to go public, expects to turn operationally profitable by September and plans to expand its presence in India and abroad, its chief executive said.

The startup, which currently operates in Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai, will venture into cities including Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad over the next 15 months.

It will also explore partnerships with local entrepreneurs in smaller markets such as Varanasi, Agra and Goa.

“Yulu is open to give its technology platform to anyone who wants to run a small fleet in cities where we do not have a long-term plan to run it,” CEO Amit Gupta told Reuters.

The plan comes amid a broader government push for the electrification of shared transport and at a time when Yulu relies on its tie-ups with delivery firms Zomato, Swiggy and Zepto to fend off rivals, including Gogoro-backed Zypp Electric and SoftBank-backed Ola Electric.

Delivery executives account for 60 percent of Yulu’s fleet utilisation and revenue share, the startup said in a statement to Reuters, adding that more than 50,000 of them used its services in FY23.

Co-founded by Gupta, RK Misra and Naveen Dachuri in 2017, Yulu is aiming to achieve a four-fold increase in its fleet to 100,000 vehicles by the end of the current fiscal year.

The startup’s annual losses had narrowed to Rs. 555 million in FY22 from Rs. 611 million in FY21, a company spokesman said, adding that the annual results for FY23 were yet to be released.

Yulu’s bikes are made by Bajaj Auto, which exports vehicles to over 70 nations. The startup plans to piggyback on the industry veteran to venture abroad.

“The countries looking interesting are the ones where EV is there as a policy” such as Thailand and Indonesia,” Gupta said.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Zypp Electric Raises $25 Million Funding, Aims to Expand to Mumbai, Chennai by 2025

Zypp Electric said on Wednesday it has raised $25 million (nearly 206 crore) in a series B funding round led by Taiwanese battery-swapping service provider Gogoro, as the Indian electric vehicle startup looks to expand to new cities and boost its fleet size.

The funding round marks Gogoro’s latest effort to expand in India, where EVs are receiving mainstream push, having partnered with the country’s top bikemaker Hero MotoCorp and the state of Maharashtra.

“Electric vehicles are what the entire (delivery) industry is looking forward to,” Zypp‘s Chief Executive Officer Akash Gupta told Reuters.

The startup, which provides EVs for last-mile delivery for online stores, plans on using the funds to increase its fleet size to 2,00,000 EVs from 10,000, and expand to 30 Indian cities including Chennai and Mumbai by 2025, up from six currently.

Delivery companies in India are gearing towards cleaner mobility, with Amazon aiming to have 10,000 EVs for deliveries by 2025, while Walmart‘s Flipkart plans to have 25,000 EVs by 2030.

Several new and existing investors, including Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s Goodyear Ventures, 9Unicorns and WFC, participated in the funding round, which comprised $20 million (nearly Rs. 165 crore) in equity and $5 million (nearly Rs. 40 crore) in debt. 

Founded in 2017, Zypp has partnered with online shopping platforms Flipkart and Myntra, food delivery service providers Zomato and Swiggy, and grocery players Zepto and Blinkit.

It also aims to grow its operations by hiring across technology and top-level positions at a time when a few Indian startups are laying off hundreds of workers to reduce expenses.

Zypp said it is looking to be profitable in the next 12-18 months.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

 

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Zomato Co-Founder, Chief Technology Officer Gunjan Patidar Quits Company

Online food delivery platform Zomato said its co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Gunjan Patidar resigned from the post on Monday.

Patidar was one of the first few employees of Zomato and built the core tech systems for the company, it said in a regulatory filing.

“Over the last ten plus years, he also nurtured a stellar tech leadership team that is capable of taking on the mantle of leading the tech function going forward. His contribution to building Zomato has been invaluable,” the company said.

It, however, did not disclose reasons for his resignation.

In November last year, another co-founder of the company, Mohit Gupta, had resigned. Gupta, who had joined Zomato four-and-half years back, was elevated to co-founder in 2020 from the position of CEO of its food delivery business.

Zomato had witnessed some top level exits last year, including those of Rahul Ganjoo, who was head of new initiatives, and Siddharth Jhawar, the erstwhile vice-president and head of Intercity, and co-founder Gaurav Gupta.

On the other hand, in the recent Fairwork India Ratings 2022 Report, Zomato scored 4 out of 10 on the basis of providing fair working conditions for gig workers. The ratings were decided based on the assessment of several online platforms against five principles: Fair Pay, Fair Conditions, Fair Contracts, Fair Management, and Fair Representation. 

The report evaluated 12 platforms offering location-based services in sectors such as domestic and personal care, logistics, food delivery, e-pharmacy, and transportation, in India. These platforms included Amazon Flex, Big Basket, Dunzo, Flipkart, Ola, PharmEasy, Porter, Swiggy, Uber, Urban Company, Zepto and Zomato.

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