As Zomato nears its debut in the public markets, the food delivery market is heating up, thanks to growing concern about going out to eat, as well as the convenience that these platforms provide. Zomato, in preparation for its IPO, has raised over a billion dollars in the past few months. However, its arch rival Swiggy is not to be left behind, and while all eyes are at its red competitor at the moment, the company is making waves in the financial world in its own way. Today, Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved a $450Mn funding in Swiggy, led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2.
The announcement was made in a tweet from the antirust watchdog itself, which said:
Commission approves the proposed acquisition of certain stake in Bundl Technologies (Swiggy) by SVF II Songbird (SoftBank Group entity) pic.twitter.com/ucLnHgOaIy
— CCI (@CCI_India) July 12, 2021
This comes on top of the $800Mn fundraise that took place during Swiggy’s Series J funding round, which valued the company at a massive $5Bn (which is still less than the $8.56Bn valuation that Zomato is looking forward to at its IPO this week). This is an extension of the previous round, which saw participation from the likes of Falcon Edge, Amansa, Think Investments, Carmignac, and Goldman Sachs.
Zomato and Swiggy have been at each other’s tails for quite some time now, with the former always having a slight edge over the latter. However, over time, Swiggy is trying to differentiate itself from its competitor by adding other features like Swiggy Genie. This is also reflected in their acquisitions. While Zomato is doubling down on the food delivery front with acquisitions like Grofers, Swiggy is exploring new avenues with hyperlocal delivery.
SoftBank has been making massive bets in the Indian startup ecosystem, including partaking in the new funding round in Flipkart, making a re-entry after exiting from the e-commerce firm back in 2018. After today, SoftBank will add two new India based technological behemoths to its portfolio.
