Swiggy nabs $1B as Indian foodtech industry matures

From tangy, chutney-dipped samosas to spicy chicken curries, Indians are enthusiastic when it comes to their food. And so are venture capitalists.

Indian food delivery startup Swiggy has announced a $1 billion round led by Naspers, with participation from DST Global, Coatue Management and Meituan Dianping. Tencent, Hillhouse Capital and Wellington Management also participated in the funding.

Founded in 2014, Swiggy has partnered with more than 50,000 restaurants across 50 cities in India. Naspers first backed the Bengaluru-based business in 2017, before leading a $100 million round for Swiggy this February at an estimated valuation of $725 million, followed by another $210 million round in June at an estimated valuation of $1.3 billion.

In a country with more than 1.3 billion people who seem to love their food, it's not difficult to see the scope of investment opportunities in foodtech and restaurant tech. Swiggy's latest fundraise comes at the end of a big year for Indian food startups securing VC funding. Even excluding Swiggy's massive round, the current year has seen more VC funding in the space than each of the last three years, with $762 million invested across 23 deals, according to PitchBook data:

*2018 data does not include Swiggy's $1 billion round

While other rounds this year haven't rivaled Swiggy's in size, they're by no means small. In February, another Bengaluru-based startup, BigBasket, which operates an online grocery shopping platform, reportedly raised a $300 million Series E led by Alibaba at an estimated valuation of $1.75 billion. The company's other backers include Helion Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners and Ascent Capital.

Restaurant guide and on-demand food delivery service provider Zomato secured a $150 million round led by Ant Financial in March at a valuation of more than $1 billion. Ninjacart, the creator of a B2B agri-marketing platform that aims to build a supply chain with farmers, raised $35 million earlier this month in a round led by Accel and Syngenta Ventures.

And while Grofers raised a down round with its $62 million Series E in February, reports emerged in October that the grocery delivery startup was in talks for fresh funds. SoftBank's Vision Fund is said to be in final talks to lead a $120 million to $150 million round for Grofers, potentially with participation from Tiger Global and Sequoia, per The Economic Times.
 

Related read: For VCs, food tech is on the menu [interactive graphic]