Foodtech unicorn Zomato ‘finalizing’ $600m round led by Ant Financial, Temasek: report

Indian food ordering and delivery platform Zomato is reportedly finalizing a fresh $600 million round of fundraising. It’s said to be led by existing Chinese investor, Ant Financial, and Singapore state fund Temasek. This is according to The Economic Times, citing “two people in the know”. The report, dated October 4, said that few hedge funds may pool in about $150-200 million.

The sources added that Zomato’s valuation may cross $3 billion in the new funding round, marking a $1 billion increase from its current $2 billion valuation. It raised about $40 million from US investor Grade Book Capital Partners in February this year.

In October 2018, Zomato raised $210 million from Alibaba’s payment affiliate Ant Financial, which received a 14.7% ownership stake of the company as part of a Series I round. The $210 million follows an additional $150 million from Ant earlier in 2018. ET’s sources said that the Chinese investor will see its stake touch almost 29%. This would push it ahead of InfoEdge as the Gurugam-based company’s largest shareholder.

Funding boom for the ‘Big Three’ in India’s food tech sector

This supposed fundraise comes amid similar moves by other several high profile startups in the sector.  Zomato’s main competitor, Swiggy, is also said to be close to sealing a $700-750-million round led by existing investor Naspers. The two companies are locked in an expensive battle to grab a larger share of India’s food delivery market.

In late September, third-most valued food tech firm Rebel Foods raised $125 million in a Series D round, backed by returning investors such as Indian VC Lightbox, US VC firm Sequoia Capital and Dubai-based Evolvence.

Check out our coverage of Rebel Foods’ Series D, here.

Zomato recently turned 11 years old in October, marking its journey from a home project to one of the largest food aggregators in the world. It’s present in 24 countries and over 10,000 cities globally.

“Back in 2008, all it took was an idea to enable digital access to thousands of restaurant menus,” said its website, explaining Zomato’s roots. “Three passionate foodies who hated waiting in lines, drove around Delhi to collect menus from restaurants, scan them and put them online. Their idea has now grown into the vision that drives our team of 5,000-plus people everyday.”