Zomato, the leading food-tech startup from India, has today announced that it has made strategic investment in three Indian start-ups Pickingo, Grab and Delhivery. Out of these three, two of them – Pickingo and Grab are hyperlocal delivery start-up while Delhivery is a logistics start-up.
Pickingo was founded in December 2014 and currently offers delivery for local merchants across six cities in India. The company has raised $1.3 million. It currently operates a fleet of over 700 field executives across India.
Grab, formerly known as Grub, is a hyperlocal logistics service connecting neighborhood stores, restaurants & online platforms to deliver their products to the end consumers in minutes. Since last 2 years, it claims to have delivered more than 8,00,000 orders and has raised $1 million in funding.
Delhivery is India’s fastest growing e-commerce enablement company which offers extensive services ranging from last mile deliveries, third party fulfillment, warehousing services and software solutions such as channel integration software for sellers selling across multiple platforms.
Rahul Gill, Co-Founder and CEO, Pickingo, said,
This investment will not only infuse funds into the company but will also allow us to scale rapidly with Zomato’s online ordering business, while also leveraging Zomato’s strong relationship with restaurants across the country. We have already started working together to deliver from select restaurants in New Delhi, and we look forward to taking this partnership further.
Pratish Sanghvi, Co-Founder and Director, Grab, said
Last mile logistics are a challenge for most merchants across India, especially restaurants, and we view this investment as a great opportunity to solve this problem using technology along with Zomato. We have already rolled this out with Zomato in Mumbai, and will extend to other cities in the next couple of weeks. These are exciting times for food-tech in India.
Sahil Barua, Founder & CEO, Delhivery, said,
The food-tech space in India is heating up, and we’re excited about this partnership with Zomato. Delivery logistics for restaurants have always been a challenge, and we believe the technology-first approach will help simplify operations for them, as well as enrich customer experiences.
Deepinder Goyal, Founder and CEO, Zomato, said,
We have unequivocally the largest restaurant base in India and and we will work closely with Pickingo, Grab, and Delhivery to improve the last-mile delivery experience for users placing orders online on Zomato. So far, restaurants have been delivering on their own, but with this partnership, we will also be able to target restaurants across the country that don’t otherwise deliver.
Zomato was founded in 2008 and is currently present in 22 countries. Till now, the company has raised around $168 million in funding. Since July last year, it has acquired 9 companies in a bid to expand its global reach in the restaurant search space.
Zomato is moving forward from being a search and discovery portal to a platform offering technology that helps merchants connect more effectively with customers. It is soon going to launch online ordering, cashless payments, table reservations and a point of sale system.
