Brief: Indian food delivery app Swiggy hits $5bn valuation; raises $800m from Goldman, others

• Indian food delivery app Swiggy has raised $800 million in a Series J round led by Goldman Sachs, Falcon Edge Capital, Amansa Capital, Think Investments, and Carmignac, according to The Economic Times.
• Sovereign wealth funds Qatar Investment Authority and Singapore’s GIC were among the new investors to come on board for the round. Existing backers including Accel and Naspers‘ VC affiliate Prosus Ventures also participated.
• The round values Swiggy at an estimated $5 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Why it matters:

In an internal company memo seen by the Times, Swiggy CEO and co-founder Sriharsha Majety told staff that the “fundraise gives us a lot more firepower […] we will continue to seed [and] experiment new offerings for the future.”

He added that over the past year, the startup has “managed to drive a strong recovery in the food delivery business with a very clear path to profitability [and the] food delivery business is the strongest it has ever been.”

Swiggy and Alibaba-backed archrival Zomato — which is rumored to be planning an IPO — were initially hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic when it arrived in India in early 2020. However, the restaurant delivery business rapidly recovered, while both companies diversified into grocery delivery to meet lockdown demand.

While Swiggy has since shuttered Swiggy Stores — which provided delivery from third-party grocers — it launched Instamart, a ‘dark store’-based platform offering 45-minute delivery of fresh groceries, in August last year.

Swiggy is also backed by investors including Samsung, Tencent, and Meituan.