Swiggy raises $100 mn from Naspers, China's Meituan-Dianping

Swiggy, leading online food ordering and delivery platform, on Thursday raised    $100 million (approximately Rs 642 crore) in series F funding, led by global internet group and technology investor Naspers and China's e-commerce platform Meituan- Dianping.

According to the company release, the new funding  will further strengthen its market leadership position by introducing a host of unique and advanced products and services.

"As part of its long-term strategy of solving for existing supply gaps in the marketplace, Swiggy will also make investments in its New Supply business line," states the company.

Swiggy Access, the new supply initiative launched last November, helped Swiggy to expand its business.

Swiggy has already raised five rounds of funding totaling  $155.5 million. The current round of funding is its largest round yet.

Commenting on the development, Swiggy CEO  Sriharsha Majety said  as India's leading food ordering and delivery platform with a network of thousands of restaurants and millions of users, Swiggy has become part of consumers' everyday lives.

"We want to continue to bring convenience, choice and reliability to our users as we fulfil our mission of 'Changing the Way India Eats'," said  Majety.  

He also said  with the new funding  the company will  further invest in building differentiated offerings, plugging the white spaces in the ecosystem, and developing our technology while keeping superlative customer experience at the core.

Swiggy will also continue innovating its core technology platform, especially in the areas of data-driven self-learning systems that leverage machine learning and artificial intelligence.

The company will build on its adaptive, real-time prediction and optimisation systems to further improve consumer choice and personalisation, along with speed, volume and efficiency of deliveries.

Since the last round of funding, Swiggy has introduced a slew of new initiatives like Swiggy Access, long-distance deliveries and Capital Assist to help restaurants serve consumers in new and more powerful ways.

The company also strengthened its senior leadership with several additions to the team including those from the recent acqui-hire of gourmet food startup 48East.

Swiggy has posted a record increase of 500% in revenues in the last financial year and saw order volumes nearly double since its previous funding in May 2017.

Naspers Ventures CEO  Larry Illg said  Swiggy has continued strong growth through 2017 and now has a clear lead in the market.

"The company's performance is all the more impressive given the intense competition we see in the food ordering and delivery business in India. Swiggy has shown it has the ability to rise above the competition and create long-term relationships with its users," said Illg.  

Naspers also invested in the parent company of Swiggy's rival foodpanda, Delivery Hero.  Other investors in Swiggy include Accel India, SAIF Partners India, Bessemer Venture Partners, Harmony Partners and Norwest Venture Partners.