BizDateUp Cofounders Pick Up Stakes In IPO-Bound Swiggy

Angel investing platform BizDateup’s cofounders Jeet Chandan and Meet Jain have picked up an undisclosed amount of stake in IPO-bound foodtech giant Swiggy. 

In a statement, the company said that it made the investment through an “off-market” secondary deal for an undisclosed amount. 

Chandan said, “As an entrepreneur since the age of 13, I have always been driven by a passion for creating businesses that showcase disruptive potential and significantly impact consumers’ lives. Swiggy’s innovative approach and leadership in the food delivery sector align perfectly with my investment philosophy”.

Chiming in, cofounder Jain added, “… The rise of appealing, user-friendly apps and tech-enabled driver networks, combined with evolving consumer expectations, has transformed ready-to-eat food delivery into a major category. We believe Swiggy is well-positioned to continue shaping the future of food delivery with its cutting-edge solutions and customer-centric approach”.

Founded by Chandan and Jain in 2020, BizDateUp allows angel investors to invest in Indian startups with a capital as low as INR 1 Lakh. The investment firm, in April 2024, announced the launch of an INR 200 Cr fund to invest in technology startups.

It claims to have raised over $10 Mn from over 1,000 active angel investors in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24).

The latest development comes at a time when a slew of celebrities are lining up to acquire stakes in the company in the run up to Swiggy’s IPO. Last week, cricketers Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan, tennis star Rohan Bopanna, director Karan Johar and actor and entrepreneur Ashish Chowdhry picked up stakes in the foodtech major. 

Before that actors such as Amitabh Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit too purchased stakes in Swiggy in the run up to the decacorn’s IPO. 

In September itself, listed porcelain insulator manufacturer Modern Insulators also bought Swiggy shares worth almost INR 5 Cr while Hindustan Composites said that it would lap up 1.5 Lakh shares for a cash consideration of INR 5.17 Cr.

This comes close on the heels of Swiggy submitting its updated draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) last week for an INR 3,750 Cr initial public offering (IPO).

The public issue will comprise a fresh issuance of shares worth INR 3,750 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) component of 18.53 Cr equity shares.

On the financial front, the DRHP outlined that Swiggy’s net losses widened by over 7% to INR 605.7 Cr in Q1 FY25 against INR 562.8 Cr in the same quarter last fiscal. Despite this, its operational revenue surged nearly 35% to INR 3,222.2 Cr in the June quarter, up from INR 2,389.8 Cr in Q1 FY24.