Greenoaks, Lightspeed lead Series D round in Sequoia-backed Zetwerk

Business-to-business (B2B) manufacturing services marketplace Zetwerk has announced a $120 million (about Rs 875 crore) Series D fundraising round led by US-based Greenoaks Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Other participants in the round include existing backers Sequoia Capital India and Kae Capital, Zetwerk said in a statement. This takes the total capital raised by the firm to $193 million (about Rs 1,400 crore).

Interestingly, this fundraise comes just seven months after the firm raised $21 million (about Rs 153 crore) in a Series C funding round. That round was also led by Greenoaks, with participation from Sequoia, Kae, Lightspeed and Accel.

Bengaluru-based Zetwerk, operated by Zetwerk Manufacturing Businesses Pvt. Ltd, was set up in 2018 by Amrit Acharya, Srinath Ramakkrushnan, Rahul Sharma and Vishal Chaudhary. The company connects mid-to-large original equipment manufacturers from India and Southeast Asia with firms that require custom products and machine parts.

The startup says it has forged partnerships in segments such as precision parts, capital goods and consumer goods. The product categories it serves include prefabricated structures for infrastructure projects, sheet metal for electric vehicles, precision parts for aerospace and assembly lines for consumer durables.

Zetwerk will use the capital to enhance its technological infrastructure as well as expand into newer categories and regions.

“Zetwerk’s operating system for manufacturing has digitized multiple supply chains end to end, ensuring on-time delivery and high-quality standards. This has led to rapid growth in India and internationally,” said Neil Shah, partner, Greenoaks Capital.

Prior to its Series C fundraise, the company raised Rs 16 crore (about $2.24 million) in funding from venture debt firm InnoVen Capital in January 2020. That development took place just weeks after it raised $32 million (about Rs 230 crore) in its Series B funding round from investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners and Greenoaks Capital.

In March 2019, Zetwerk raised $9 million (about Rs 65 crore) as part of its Series A round from venture capital firms Sequoia India, Accel and Kae Capital.

B2B space heats up

The Series D investment in Zetwerk, just months after its Series C round, is the latest example of B2B startups receiving heavy investor attention. Firms across sectors have raised capital in recent months.

Last week, for example, at least two startups raised funding. Matrix Partners India and RTP Global co-led a $4 million (about Rs 29 crore) seed round in pharmacy-focused Saveo, while Accel and Nexus led a $3 million (about Rs 22 crore) seed round in industrial services-focused VenWiz.

Last month, InnoVen Capital invested Rs 50 crore (about $6.8 million) in Infra.Market, a B2B materials marketplace. In December 2019, Infra.Market raised $20 million (about Rs 143 crore) in its Series A funding round led by US-based Tiger Global.

Bizongo, a packaging materials marketplace, also raised $9.3 million (about Rs 68 crore) in a growth funding round from investors such as UK’s CDC, Accel and International Finance Corporation.

However, Udaan has secured the largest cheque in the B2B space so far this year. Last month, it raised $280 million (about Rs 2,040 crore). US-based technology investment firm Octahedron Capital and Moonstone Capital joined as new investors in the round, while investors such as Lightspeed and GGV Capital also participated.