The fresh round will likely double the company's valuation to around INR 5,500- 6,000 Cr ($700 Mn)
This will be the company’s last private funding round ahead of its initial public offering (IPO)
Wealth managers, including Nuvama and InCred are also in talks with Shadowfax regarding this funding round
Flipkart-backed logistics startup ShadowFax
is reportedly in advanced discussions of raising INR 350-400 Cr (around $45 – 50 Mn) in a fresh funding round, which would likely double its valuation to around INR 5,500- 6,000 Cr ($700 Mn).
As per ET, this will be the company’s last private funding round ahead of its initial public offering (IPO).
Inc42 has reached out to the company. The story will be updated based on its responses.
The fundraise will see a host of domestic family offices, mutual funds and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) joining the company’s cap table.
Wealth managers, including Nuvama and InCred are also in talks with Shadowfax regarding this funding round. However, the company will finalise its investors in the coming few weeks.
Initially, the Bengaluru-based company planned to raise $30-$35 Mn in this fresh round but it was expanded due to adequate demand as the company plans for public listing.
“The idea is to set the valuation before filing for the IPO. That (draft IPO papers) should also happen this financial year,” a source told ET.
While the round will see participation from both new and existing investors, it will also push investors to part-sell stake in secondary deals.
In February, the company raised $100 Mn (INR 828.78 Cr) as a part of its Series E funding round led by TPG NewQuest. The round also gave a partial exit to the startup’s first institutional investor Eight Roads Ventures.
Founded by Vaibhav Khandelwal and Abhishek Bansal in 2015, Shadowfax provides hyper-local and on-demand deliveries to businesses. Notably, the startup works with ecommerce platforms like Flipkart and Meesho.
As the company eyes an INR 3000 Cr IPO, it has been on an expansion spree lately.
For instance, the startup recently rolled out an AI-backed address intelligence system ,SF Maps, designed to boost accuracy and efficiency in deliveries.
Few days back, Shadowfax partnered with ride-hailing major Uber to integrate its two wheeler fleet with UberMoto bike taxi offering.
Talking on the financial end, Shadowfax reported a net loss of INR 142.63 Cr in the fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23), down 19% year-on-year (YoY), while total income rose 42% YoY to INR 1,423 Cr.
