Accel led $20 M Series A funding to be raised by grocery platform ApnaMart: Report
According to three sources familiar with the deal’s specifics, the hyperlocal grocery platform ApnaMart, which focuses on India, is on the verge of raising $20 million in a Series A round from Accel Partners and Sequoia Capital.
“ApnaMart is in advanced talks to raise anywhere between $15-20 million led by Accel,” said one of the sources requesting anonymity. “Sequoia is an existing investor which is also likely to participate.”
In tier II and III cities, ApnaMart guarantees grocery delivery within 90 minutes. The four cities where it is currently in use are Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Hazaribagh, and Raipur. With a focus on smaller towns, it uses neighborhood offline shops and its own franchises to fulfill orders and offers distribution to grocery and fast-moving consumer goods brands.
“The deal is likely to materialise if nothing changes at the last moment as the term sheet has been signed. ApnaMart will be valued at around $50-$55 million (post-money),” said another source.
ApnaMart, Sequoia, and Accel failed to respond to inquiries right away. If they respond, we will update the story.
ApnaMart, which was founded by Chetan Garg and Abhishek Singh, has already raised about Rs 22.6 crore over three installments. According to the company’s regulatory filing with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Sequoia Capital, Disruptors Capital, Amplify Consultancy, AL Trust, Titan Capital, and other investors contributed the aforementioned sum.
Zepto, BlinkIt, and Dunzo are just a few of the ten-minute grocery startups that have grown in popularity and attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in funding over the past 18 months in the top 10 cities. By focusing only on tier II and III cities, ApnaMart is taking the opposite tack. Although the company doesn’t face direct competition in the cities where it currently operates, BigBasket is an indirect rival, and it will face competition from DealShare and CityMall when it expands to states like NCR, Rajasthan, and UP.
