Exclusive: Zomato-Backed Shiprocket In Final Stages Of Closing $10 Mn Funding From McKinsey

Zomato-backed SaaS logistics startup Shiprocket is in advanced talks to raise $10 Mn-$12 Mn from  McKinsey & Company in a strategic funding round, sources told Inc42.

The Delhi NCR-based unicorn is raising the funding at its last valuation of $1.2 Bn, the sources said. Post the funding, McKinsey & Co will assist Shiprocket in expanding its business, the source added. 

“The talks are in final stages and Shiprocket will be making an official announcement soon,” one of the sources said.

A detailed questionnaire sent to Shiprocket on the funding round didn’t elicit any response till the time of publishing this story. The article will be updated on receiving a response from the startup.

The development comes almost a year after Shiprocket raised $33.5 Mn in its Series E2 round, which helped the startup enter the coveted unicorn club. The funding round, which was led by Lightrock India, saw participation from Temasek, Bertelsmann, Moore Strategic Ventures, PayPal, and March Capital. 

Prior to that, Shiprocket raised $185 Mn in a round co-led by Zomato, Temasek and Lightrock India. Following this, the logistics startup went on a shopping spree in 2022. It acquired Wigzo in January last year for $25 Mn. After this, it went on to acquire Rocketbox, Glaucus, Pickrr, and Omuni. Pickrr was Shiprocket’s biggest acquisition at $200 Mn. 

However, last month, Inc42 exclusively reported about a restructuring exercise at Omuni. As part of this exercise, about 60-70 employees were laid off. Omuni’s senior management team, including CEO and cofounder Mukul Bafna and CTO Sumeet Chandhok, was also said to have been on their way out of the company.

Shiprocket, which was founded in 2017 by Vishesh Khurana, Akshay Gulati, Saahil Goel and Gautam Kapoor, is an aggregator of third-party logistics companies, It works with 17 courier partners, including Delhivery, FedEx, Aramex, Xpressbees, DTDC, and Shadowfax. 

The startup has raised around $261 Mn in funding to date. 

Shiprocket reported a net loss of INR 93.1 Cr in FY22 as against a profit of INR 12.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year. While its operating revenue rose to INR 611 Cr in FY22 from INR 358 Cr in the previous year, total expense ballooned to INR 727.8 Cr from INR 350.6 Cr in FY21.

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