Dunzo In Last-Stage Talks With Investors To Raise $50 Mn In Fresh Funds

Hyperlocal delivery unicorn Dunzo is reportedly in final discussions with its investors to raise nearly $50 Mn in a fresh funding round. 

Dunzo’s existing backers Reliance Retail and Google are in talks to participate in the new fundraising round. Primarily, its funding deliberations are largely held with existing investors, sources told TechCrunch. 

It is prudent to note that as per ET reports, Dunzo has been trying to secure funds between $70 Mn and $150 Mn for quite some time. 

The reports of Dunzo being in the final discussions with its investors have come at a time when the Indian startup ecosystem is in the midst of a funding winter.  

In January, Dunzo laid off 3% of its workforce. During that time, the startup did not share the exact number of employees that were impacted by the move. However, according to media reports, around 60-80 employees were shown pink slips. 

In November 2022, the quick commerce startup closed a few dark stores, showing low customer demand in Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad. The move was taken to optimise costs and drive ‘operational efficiencies’.

During the same month, it bagged $6.2 Mn in debt funding from BlockSoil India, a venture debt fund of BlockSoil. 

In August, it shifted focus from 15-20 minute grocery delivery to 60-minute delivery, as a cost-cutting measure.

At the same time, its B2B logistics subsidiary Dunzo for Business joined the Centre’s ONDC network to provide last-mile delivery to local companies. 

It has bagged over $380 Mn so far, according to Crunchbase data. Its backers include Alteria Capital, Lightbox, 3L Capital, Krishtal Advisors, Ranjan Patwardhan, Rich Ravi Agrawal, and Google, among others. 

In the financial year 2022 (FY22), its consolidated losses soared 2X to INR 464 Cr from INR 229 Cr in FY21. Its operating revenue soared 2.1X to NR 54.3 Cr in FY22 from INR 25.1 Cr in FY21. 

In the quick commerce segment, Dunzo locks horns with Swiggy’s Instamart, Zepto, Tata-led BigBasket and Zomato-led BlinkIt. 

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