Walmart-owned Flipkart has completed a fundraising round that values the online retailer at $37.6 billion. This valuation comes after Walmart Inc as well as other investors including SoftBank pumped in $3.6 billion in the company.
The deal saw investors like GIC, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Walmart, along with investments from sovereign funds DisruptAD, Qatar Investment Authority, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, and marquee investors Tencent, Willoughby Capital, Antara Capital, Franklin Templeton and Tiger Global participating.
SoftBank that had previously backed Flipkart but sold its stake to Walmart is back as a shareholder.
Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Chief Executive Officer of Flipkart Group said, “At Flipkart, we are committed to transforming the consumer internet ecosystem in India and providing consumers access and value. This investment by leading global investors reflects the promise of digital commerce in India and their belief in Flipkart’s capabilities to maximise this potential for all stakeholders. As we serve our consumers, we will focus on accelerating growth for millions of small and medium Indian businesses, including kiranas. We will continue to invest in new categories and leverage made-in-India technology to transform consumer experiences and develop a world-class supply chain.”
The funding round is great news for both Flipkart and its parent Walmart that had bought a majority stake in the company three years ago for $16 billion.
Investors are pumping billions of dollars to grab a piece of India’s consumer internet and software-as-a-service startups pie. The industry is growing rapidly as people are mostly relying on online apps for a range of services amid the pandemic. "This investment reflects global investor confidence in digital commerce in India, which has continued to accelerate over the last year when access to products safely and convenience took priority. With this development, Flipkart will continue to make deeper investments across people, technology, supply chain and infrastructure to address the requirements of a rapidly growing consumer base in India," said the company.
Flipkart has 350 million registered users and more than 300,000 registered sellers from across the country on its marketplace. Out of these sellers 60 per cent are from Tier 2 cities and beyond. The online giant also works with 1.6 million kiranas. Samarth, Flipkart’s program to support small businesses, underserved communities and artisans, has more than 750,000 beneficiaries.
The Flipkart Group has a range of entities including fashion portal Myntra, logistics and supply chain arm Ekart, social commerce platform Shopsy. The group is also a majority shareholder in payments app PhonePe.
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