On-demand logistics services startup Grofers raises $10M from Tiger, Sequoia

Gurgaon-based Locodel Solutions Pvt Ltd, the company behind Grofers, a mobile-based platform that connects offline retailers with consumers, has raised $10 million (Rs 62 crore) in its Series A round of funding from Tiger Global and existing investor Sequoia, as per a company statement.

The company plans to use the funding to strengthen the technology platform and expand the service to all metros in the country with Bangalore being the next market.

"We have been impressed with their ability to scale their 90-minute local delivery service so seamlessly. The company is well positioned to help local businesses benefit from the rapid adoption of smartphones and the emergence of the on-demand economy in India," said Lee Fixel, partner, Tiger Global.

The company was started in December 2013 by Albinder Dhindsa, along with Saurabh Kumar. An alumnus of Columbia University and IIT Delhi, Dhindsa earlier worked in the US for around six years before co-founding Grofers. Kumar, an alumnus of IIT Bombay, holds an MS degree in Transportation Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. Earlier, he was COO of Rasilant Technologies.

It had raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding in December from Sequoia.

Grofers is a hyper-local delivery service that connects local merchants with consumers in their locality. According to Dhindsa, Grofers' working model is very similar to Instacart in the US, which helps offline retailers to go online and connects them with customers in their locality.

The company has also launched Grofers On-Demand, an Android app that allows users and businesses to get their delivery done by just selecting a pickup and a drop location.

Presently, it serves products across categories like grocery, bakeries and fresh produce.

It has so far partnered with over 250 merchants across Delhi and Mumbai and claims of processing over 30,000 deliveries every month, with over 6,000 orders coming over the mobile application.

The company employs over 200 delivery staff.

In Bangalore, Grofers will mainly compete with Delyver.com. An online platform that connects offline retailers with customers in a neighbourhood, Delyver recently secured over Rs 6.5 crore (over $1 million) in funding from an undisclosed VC fund based out of the city. It would also compete with BigBasket, which offers its own grocery e-tailing platform.