Lightspeed leads $3.9 mn funding round in hyperlocal discovery platform Magicpin

Gurugram-based Samast Technologies, which owns and operates hyperlocal discovery platform Magicpin, has raised $3.89 million (Rs 29.3 crore) in a funding round led by returning investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and Lightspeed India Partners.

Other participants in the round included The Bunting Family Private Fund, French investment firm Moonstone Investments, venture capital firm Waterbridge Ventures and Srivatsan Rajan, a partner at global consultancy firm Bain and Company.

Of the total, the India and US Lightspeed units invested $3.05 million, The Bunting Family put in about $250,000 and Moonstone Investments infused $370,000, regulatory filings showed. Waterbridge Ventures contributed around $170,000, and Rajan pitched in the rest, it added.

Overall, the company issued 665 Series C1 preference shares at Rs 4,40,109 per share to the investors, totalling to Rs 29.3 crore, the filings showed.

After the deal, Lightspeed will hold 42.27% stake in the company. Back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that the fresh funding values Magicpin at $463 million.

The capital infusion comes almost two years after its last funding round. In November 2018, Magicpin raised $20 million in a round led by Lightspeed with WaterBridge Ventures. The company was valued at $100 million in the deal.

Since its inception in August 2015, the company has raised around $31 million, according to VCCEdge data. The company also counts venture capital firm Vy Capital and venture debt provider Trifecta Capital as investors.

Magicpin was founded by Anshoo Sharma, a former venture partner at Lightspeed, and Brij Bhushan, former vice president of Nexus Venture Partners. The two alumni of IIM Ahmedabad have previously worked with US-based software firm Aricent and consulting firm Bain and Company.

Magicpin offers reward points to shoppers who use the platform to share pictures of their experiences at local shops such as restaurants, apparel stores and gyms. Such users can upload their bills on the app and avail cashback and discount offers. The app also makes personalised recommendations to users based on their consumption pattern.

Magicpin counts fast food chain McDonald’s, restaurant chain Hard Rock Cafe and hospitality unicorn OYO among its partners.

In September 2019, Magicpin launched operations in Indonesia from Jakarta and plans to set up in 10 more cities soon. At the time, it had five million users on its platform and a presence in over 50 cities in India, including New Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai and Hyderabad.