Logistics unicorn Rivigo is raising a Series F round of ₹141.97 crore ($20 million) from its existing investors SAIF Partners India VI Ltd and Spring Canter Investment Ltd, according to a regulatory filing that has been accessed by business information platform Paper.vc.
The fresh fundraising round appears to be at the same valuation as the previous one, a note from Paper.vc said. According to information available on the platform, the company was valued at $1.1 billion in September this year.
At the Extraordinary General Meeting of Rivigo Services Pvt Ltd, on 9 December, the company’s Board approved the issue of 5,086 shares Series F preference shares to SAIF Partners and Spring Canter Investment Ltd.
This development comes in the background of increased activity in the logistics segment in India. Last week, integrated logistics solutions provider Allcargo Logistics said it has bought a controlling stake in express logistics firm Gati Ltd, for around ₹416 crore.
Two of India’s newest unicorns, Delhivery and Rivigo, are logistics firms. According to a recent report by software industry body Nasscom, nearly 60% of 2019’s unicorns are from emerging sectors such as gaming, automotive and supply chain/logistics.
This September, Rivigo gained unicorn (valued a billion dollars or more) status after it raised $4.9 million from South Korea-based KB Global Platform Fund. In July this year, the Gurugram-based startup said it raised $65 million in its ongoing series E round, led by existing investors Warburg Pincus and SAIF Partners.
Founded in 2014 by Deepak Garg and Gazal Kalra, Rivigo offers delivery services across India to retail, e-commerce, pharmaceutical, automobile, and FMCG companies, and also has a freight marketplace.
Rivigo has an innovative relay trucking model under which a truck driver hands over the vehicle to another driver at a designated pit stop, thereby ensuring that the truck is not idle at any point during the journey. It also ensures drivers are behind the wheel for a maximum of four to five hours at a stretch and reach home the same day.
For the year ended March 2019, the company’s revenues increased by 43% to ₹1,028.6 crore, from ₹719.8 crore it reported the previous year. Losses however more than doubled to ₹602.3 crore in FY19, from ₹270.2 crore in the previous financial year.
This article was first published in livemint.com