Swiggy To Invest $700 Mn In Its Express Delivery Platform Instamart

Amid a growing competition in the quick hyperlocal delivery services, online food delivery major Swiggy has announced to invest $700 Mn in its express grocery delivery platform Instamart.

Instamart plans to make deliveries within 15 minutes of an order by January 2022, by having the network of dark stores very close to the majority of its customers, said a statement from Swiggy.

Launched in Gurugram and Bengaluru in 2020, Swiggy Instamart is now serving customers across 18 cities, and doing over 1 Mn orders per week, it said.

“At our current growth trajectory, Instamart is set to reach an annualised GMV run rate of $1 Bn in the next three quarters,” said Sriharsha Majety, CEO, Swiggy. 

The platform offers products across categories including fresh fruits and vegetables, daily bread and eggs, cooking essentials, baby care, home and cleaning etc specially curated to suit the demand requirements of each location. 

It is available in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Chandigarh, Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Kochi, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Noida, Pune and Vizag.

In July, Swiggy had closed a $1.25 Bn round of funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Prosus with a valuation of $5.5 Bn. Founded in 2014, Swiggy has so far raised $3.7 Bn.

In October, it announced plans to hold two ESOP liquidity events in the next two years worth $35 Mn – $40 Mn at its current valuation.

Growing Competition

The massive $700 Mn push by Swiggy into its express delivery platform comes at a time when the segment is witnessing a growing competition with the other incumbents also coming up with strategies to minimise the delivery timelines. 

InstaMart competes with Bengaluru-based Dunzo, Zomato-backed Grofers and Tata-owned Big Basket.

Further, mobility unicorn Ola too has started its pilot for quick delivery service in parts of Bengaluru. The startup has recently started delivering items within 15 minutes.

In June, hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo launched ‘Dunzo Daily’ to deliver essential products within 19 minutes. The startup is now aiming to set up 250 dark stores to increase its presence in 700 neighbourhoods across the country. 

Last month, Mumbai-based Zepto bagged $60 Mn in its Series A round from Glade Brook Capital, Nexus, Y-Combinator among others. Founded this year by 19-year-old Stanford University dropouts Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, the startup claims to deliver grocery items within 10 minutes. The startup is currently operational in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Gurugram. 

As per a RedSeer report, the quick commerce market in India is expected to reach $5 Bn by 2025 from the current $0.3 Bn.

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