Hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo is in late-stage discussions to secure about $50 million in a new financing round, TechCrunch reported on Friday, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
Dunzo’s fundraising talks come as the company actively carves out expansion plans in the rapidly growing quick commerce space.
Earlier this year, The Economic Times reported that the company was in talks to raise up to $100 million through convertible notes to expand Dunzo Daily. DealStreetAsia in November had reported that Alphabet Inc’s Google, which is already an investor in hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo, was in talks to make an additional investment in the company.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment by DealStreetAsia.
In April 2022, Kabeer Biswas, Dunzo’s co-founder, was quoted by Indian media as saying that the company is planning to raise about $250-300 million, and it is likely to work with Morgan Stanley to facilitate the process.
Founded in 2014, Dunzo delivers groceries and essentials, fruit and vegetables, meat, pet supplies, food, and medicines in major cities. It also has a separate service to pick up and deliver packages within the same city. The startup currently offers its services in Bangalore, Delhi, Noida, Pune, Gurgaon, Powai, Hyderabad, and Chennai.
Google invested in Dunzo’s $40-million Series E funding round in January 2021.
Dunzo competes with the likes of Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart as well as local food and grocery delivery startups such as Swiggy, Zomato, BigBasket, and Blinkit (earlier known as Grofers).