Dunzo raises $40 million in funding from Google, Lightbox and others

Local commerce platform Dunzo on Tuesday said it has raised a fresh round of USD 40 million (about Rs 292.7 crore) in capital from a clutch of investors including Google and Lightbox, among others.

The funding round saw participation from new and existing investors, including Google, Lightbox, Evolvence, Hana Financial Investment, LGT Lightstone Aspada, and Alteria, among others, a statement said.

"This capital stems from a year of robust growth amidst the pandemic. In the coming year, the local commerce platform will focus on deploying its playbook for sustainable growth across its fastest-growing cities such as Mumbai, Chennai and Pune," it added.

With a gross merchandise value (GMV) growth of 2X over the past year, Dunzo is now about USD 100 million annualised GMV business, the statement said.

The growth in 2020 comes on the back of strong, organic user demand while maintaining gross margin profitability for the overall business, it added.

"Dunzo''s mission resonated stronger than ever in 2020. We have been amazed by everything Merchants and Users have started to depend on the platform for. We truly believe we are writing a playbook for how hyperlocal businesses can be built with sustainable unit economics and capital responsibility," Dunzo Digital CEO and co-founder Kabeer Biswas said.

The company is more focused than ever to enable local merchants to get closer to their users and build one of the most loved consumer brands in the country, he added.

In the last six months, Dunzo supported over 300 neighborhoods across eight cities, delivering essential goods to users.

Dunzo offers a full-stack of services across commerce (consumables, pet supplies, health, and wellness), courier (pick up and drop), and commute (bike taxi). It is backed by Google, Lightbox, Blume Ventures, LGT Lightstone Aspada, STIC, 3L, Moving Capital, Evolvence, Hana Financial Investment, and others, with debt from Alteria Capital.