Delivery start-up Shadowfax raises funding from NGP Cap, Qualcomm, others
2 min read 07 Aug 2018, 10:42 PM ISTShadowfax plans to use the funds for expansion and aims to connect 400,000 delivery, business partnersto the platform by 2021
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New Delhi: Hyper local delivery start-up Shadowfax Technologies Pvt. Ltd Tuesday said it has raised $22 million in a Series C funding round led by NGP Capital (formerly Nokia Growth Partners).
Qualcomm Ventures (the investment arm of Qualcomm Inc.), Mirae Asset Financial Group and existing investor— Eight Roads Ventures, also participated in the investment round, the company said in a statement.
The funding comes after Eight Roads Ventures, the investment arm of Fidelity International, had previously infused $10 million and $8.5 million in Shadowfax in 2016 and 2015.
The Bengaluru-based logistics service provider plans to utilize the capital for rapid expansion, and aims to connect 400,000 delivery and business partners to the platform by 2021 from the current 40,000.
“The rise in Indian consumers’ expectations for door-step deliveries at a time of their convenience has created a critical need for a national last-mile, independent logistics provider that can serve the needs of these demanding consumers and diverse suppliers at scale," said Upal Basu, partner at NGP Capital, which has also invested in Deliveroo, Fetchr and Zoomcar before.
The on-demand logistics company offers last-mile connectivity for product categories like grocery, food, fashion and electronics.
It has also attracted angel investment of $300,000 from Snapdeal co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, Toppr.com co-founder Zishaan Hayath and Limeroad co-founder Prashant Malik.
Founded in 2015, by Abhishek Bansal and Vaibhav Khandelwal, Shadowfax facilitates delivery to the likes of Amazon, Myntra, Urban Ladder and 1Mg among others. Among food-delivery partners, the company’s clientele includes big names from McDonalds, KFC and Dominos to Burger King.
The company bets on its Frodo technology, an artificial intelligence (AI) based location stream processing engine which enables decision-making and in turn provides better services in delivery, according to Shadowfax.
“We are ready to take multiple steps forward towards our mission of connecting the next million micro entrepreneurs and suppliers in logistics using a singular platform to bridge the information gap and eradicate inefficiencies across the value chain," said Abhishek Bansal, founder and chief executive officer at Shadowfax.
Over the past couple of years, investors have bet money on several logistics start-ups.
Rivigo Services Pvt. Ltd and Blackbuck (Zinka Logistics) have raised more than $180 million and over $100 million respectively. Shadowfax competes with rivals including Carlyle-backed Delhivery, Runnr (previously RoadRunnr) and Mumbai-based Grab.in and is one of the few start-ups that survived the storm in 2015 that forced a lot of them to shut shop.
The company’s platform has a presence in more than 80 cities across India and targets coverage of over 100 locations in the next three months. It also aims to fulfil 1million daily orders by 2021 from the current 90,000 a day.
