Dunzo Bags $28 Mn From Google, Lightstone & Others

Bengaluru-based delivery startup Dunzo has raised $28 Mn in a Series E funding round led by global tech giant Google and investment firm Lightstone. The company’s existing investors Lightbox, 3 L Capital, Moving Capital, Pivot Ventures and Bhoruka Finance Corporation have also participated in this round.

According to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs fillings, accessed by Inc42, Dunzo has allocated 10,310 Series E Cumulative Convertible Preference Share (CCPS) to Google LLC and Lightstone at INR 1,13,811.63 per share accumulating to INR 117.5 Cr (or $15.66 Mn). Other existing investors have collectively infused INR 90 Cr or $12.34 Mn.

Prior to this, Dunzo had raised $45 Mn funding from Google, Lightbox Ventures, STIC Investment, STIC Ventures and 3L Capital in Series D to expand its technology infrastructure and develop partnerships with small and medium businesses. Google has been an investor in Dunzo since 2017.

Founded by Dalvir Suri, Mukund Jha, Kabeer Biswas and Ankur Aggarwal in 2015, Dunzo connects users with vendors which are usually grocery shops to facilitate the delivery of products.

Additionally, it also fulfills door-to-door courier services and on-demand deliveries of non-essential items as well. It may take its offerings a step further with drone delivery, which was ready to go for trials in August with the help of management consulting firm Alternative Global India (AGI).

Dunzo is currently operating in Bengaluru, Delhi, Noida, Pune, Gurugram, Powai, Hyderabad and Chennai. The company had earlier claimed that it has a repeat user rate of 80% and a transaction frequency of five orders per month per user.

It aimed to be profitable on a micro-level by the last year, though the financial report for financial year 2020 is not out yet. In the financial year 2019, the company has turned profitable in some cities. But overall, Dunzo posted a loss of INR 168.9 Cr for FY19. On the other hand, the revenue grew 3.5x reaching INR 3.5 Cr in FY19 from INR 77 Lakh in FY18.

Speaking at Inc42’s ‘Ask Me Anything’ webinar, Dunzo’s Biswas noted that the company has noted another uptake during the Covid-19 pandemic and become a ‘pipeline of the city’.  This is helping Dunzo not only increase revenue but also create a loyal user base. The supply shock of the early days of the lockdown allowed Dunzo to rewrite unit economics, Biswas recalled.

Meanwhile, Flipkart has entered hyperlocal delivery service with “Flipkart Quick” to take on Dunzo. Flipkart Quick services will leverage Flipkart’s technology capabilities and supply chain infrastructure to deliver more than 2,000 products across several categories — grocery, fresh, dairy, meat, mobiles, electronics accessories, stationery items and home accessories — in the first phase.  The service is currently available in Bengaluru, but will expand to six undisclosed cities in the coming six months.