Captain Fresh nets $40 mn from Tiger Global, Prosus Ventures at $200 mn valuation
Captain Fresh, a B2B seafood marketplace owned and run by Infifresh Foods Pvt Ltd, has raised $40 million (about Rs 300 crore) in a Series B fundraising round headed by Tiger Global Management and Prosus Ventures (formerly known as Naseprs Ventures). Utham Gowda, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Captain Fresh, told VCCircle on Tuesday that the fundraise valued the company at $200 million.
The funds will be used to develop technological (tech) interventions and tech integrations across the supply-and-demand-side network, including a real-time trading marketplace, AI-powered pricing and quality standardisation, and the use of robotic automation to move volumes, according to the company. The cash will also be used to hire and expand Captain Fresh’s workforce, according to the company. Captain Fresh’s transaction was handled by Elluminate Capital, which served as the transaction’s exclusive financial advisor.
Existing investors Accel India, Matrix Partners India, Ankur Capital, and Incubate Fund also participated in the funding round.
“We hope to expand to the US, to Europe, where we believe, if we can create a story of Indian fish going to the shores and being able to market it simply because it is riding on a very high-quality technology stack as we are providing traceability and all, which means that a US customer is valuing something that is coming out of India, that would be a dream, that would be an aspirational that we would want to create at Captain Fresh,” stated Gowda.
Mumbai Teens’ Startup Raises 100 Million, Value Doubled In 5 Months
Zepto, a two-teenage-founded immediate grocery delivery firm, has raised $100 million in a funding round sponsored by Y Combinator, bringing its valuation to $570 million just five months after launching in India’s burgeoning quick commerce market.
According to Aadit Palicha, co-founder and chief executive officer, the startup’s latest fundraising comes 45 days after a prior capital raise of $60 million at a valuation of $225 million. In addition to Y Combinator’s Continuity Fund, Glade Brook Capital Partners, Nexus Venture Partners, Breyer Capital, and Silicon Valley investor Lachy Groom participated in the newest round, the business said in a statement.
ALSO READ: How Teenage Stanford Dropouts’ Founded 10-Minutes Delivery Startup Zepto
In India, a $1 trillion retail market where grocery purchases make for the majority of retail spending, online grocery delivery is gaining traction. Zepto is fighting against companies like Blinkit, which is supported by SoftBank Group Corp., Dunzo, which is backed by Google, and Swiggy, which is backed by Naspers Ltd.
Jumbotail raises $85 mn from Invus affiliate, others; Kalaari exits partially
Jumbotail Technologies Pvt Ltd, a business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce platform, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $85 million (around 640 crore) in a Series C fundraising round led by Artal Asia Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based affiliate of the US-based Invus Group.
The round was also attended by Ajax Capital, the family office of entrepreneur Ajay Gupta. Ajay Gupta is the Managing Director of Capital Foods Pvt Ltd, a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company.
According to the company, this Series C capital round included both primary and secondary investments. The company announced in a statement that Nexus Venture Partners and Kalaari Capital have partially exited the company, with new investors coming in.
The latest round of funding brings the company’s total cash received to $125 million, according to the company.
It also stated that the company would invest in skill development initiatives for Kirana store owners, as well as improve its go-to-market services to serve FMCG brands.
