Task management app Dunzo closing in on $20 mn funding; Coverfox to raise money

Bengaluru-based daily tasks management app Dunzo, run by Dunzo Digital Pvt. Ltd, is in advanced stages of discussions to close a $15-20 million (Rs 105-140 crore at current exchange rate) funding round, a media report said.

The round will see the arrival of a new strategic investor who will invest, along with Dunzo’s existing backer Google, which is expected to pump in money on a pro-rata basis, business daily Mint reported, citing unidentified people in the know.

Dunzo last month raised Rs 22.5 crore in its Series C funding round from early-stage venture capital firm Blume Ventures and others. The following also put in money: Lakshmi Narayanan, co-founder and former chief executive of software services company Cognizant; Monika Garware Modi of polyester film maker Garware Polyester Ltd; and Raintree, which is the family office of stationery player Camlin Group.

Dunzo had previously raised $12.3 million (Rs 80.8 crore) in a Series B funding round led by Google in December 2017.

Dunzo had in March 2016 raised $650,000 (around Rs 4.4 crore then) in a pre-Series A round of funding led by Aspada Investment Advisors and Blume, and joined by angel investors including Google India managing director Rajan Anandan and Just Dial chief technology officer Sandipan Chattopadhyay.

Founded in 2015 by Kabeer Biswas, Ankur Aggarwal, Dalvir Suri and Mukund Jha, Dunzo is a chat-based task management app that allows users to create to-do lists. It fulfils tasks such as grocery and restaurant deliveries, instant local courier services and home services. The platform uses both artificial intelligence and human operators to offer its services.

The startup offers its services through a mobile app, which is available on both Android and iOS platforms. Dunzo is currently operational in Bengaluru, Delhi, Gurugram, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Coverfox to raise funding

Mumbai-based Coverfox Insurance Broking Pvt. Ltd, which runs an eponymous online insurance brokerage, is in talks with investors from China, the US and the UK to raise about $50 million (Rs 350.5 crore at current exchange rate) in its next equity funding round, The Economic Times reported.

The Series D round, which will value the company at $150-200 million (Rs 1,051-1,402 crore at current exchange rate), may even stretch to $60 million (Rs 420.5 crore at current exchange rate).

Coverfox has mandated Chinese investment banking major Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to scout for investors. The round is expected to have two new investors and will likely close over the next two months, the report said. Coverfox’s existing investors are expected to participate in the new round: SAIF Partners, Catamaran Ventures, and Accel.

According to the report, a significant portion of the upcoming round will be utilised for marketing and general corporate purposes, besides enhancing agent-facing app Coverdrive and strengthening the data sciences team.

In its most recent funding in April 2018, Coverfox completed its $22-million Series C round led by International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-sector investment arm of the World Bank.

Coverfox Insurance Broking Pvt. Ltd operates the website and is a licensed insurance broking company certified by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority. Glitterbug Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which runs the Coverfox brand, is the technology and marketing arm.

The company was founded in 2013 by IIT Bombay graduate Devendra Rane and MICA Ahmedabad alumnus Varun Dua. Dua quit Coverfox in 2016 to float Acko General Insurance Company, an online insurance policy provider.

Through Glitterbug, Coverfox has aggregated and created a network of third-party repair and servicing workshops for motor vehicles, information on its website states.

The company saw its losses widen as its operating revenues more than doubled for the financial year ended March 2018. Its operating revenue, which primarily includes commission income, grew to Rs 11.45 crore for the financial year 2017-18, from Rs 4.20 crore the previous year. Its net losses during the period increased to Rs 33.7 crore from Rs 31.8 crore. Gross expenditures rose nearly 21.5% to Rs 46 crore from Rs 38 crore during the period. Mirroring 2016-17, marketing and advertising expenses for 2017-18 accounted for nearly half of the total expenses at Rs 21.53 crore. For 2016-17, marketing and advertising expenses stood at Rs 22.01 crore.