Logistics unicorn Rivigo is raising a Series F round of ₹141.97 crore ($20 million) from existing investors SAIF Partners India VI Ltd and Spring Canter Investment Ltd, according to a regulatory filing, accessed by business information platform Paper.vc.
The fresh round appears to be at the same valuation as the previous one, a note from Paper.vc said. The company was valued at $1.1 billion in September.
At an extraordinary general meeting of Rivigo Services Pvt. Ltd, on 9 December, the company’s board approved the issue of 5,086 Series F preference shares to SAIF and Spring Canter.
The development comes amid increased activity in the logistics space in India. Last week, integrated logistics solutions provider Allcargo Logistics said it has bought a controlling stake in express logistics firm Gati Ltd, for around ₹416 crore. Two of India’s newest unicorns, Delhivery and Rivigo, are logistics firms. According to a recent report by software industry body Nasscom, nearly 60% of 2019’s unicorns are from emerging sectors such as gaming, automotive and supply chain/logistics.
In September, Rivigo had gained the unicorn status (valued a billion dollars or more) after raising $4.9 million from South Korea’s KB Global Platform Fund. In July, the Gurugram-based startup said it had raised $65 million as part of its ongoing Series E round led by existing investors Warburg Pincus and SAIF Partners.
Founded in 2014 by Deepak Garg and Gazal Kalra, Rivigo offers delivery services across India to retail, e-commerce, pharmaceutical, automobile and FMCG companies. It also has a freight marketplace.
Rivigo has an innovative relay trucking model under which a truck driver hands over the vehicle to another driver at a designated pit stop, thereby ensuring that the truck is not idle at any point during the journey. It also ensures drivers are behind the wheel for a maximum of four to five hours at a stretch and reach home the same day.
For the year ended March 2019, the company’s revenue stood at ₹1,028.6 crore, up 43% from ₹719.8 crore in the previous fiscal year. Losses, however, more than doubled to ₹602.3 crore in FY19, from ₹270.2 crore in the previous financial year.
Source: Mint