ZippMat, which calls itself a “one-stop solution for all supply chain management needs of construction companies,” has scooped up $10 million in a mix of debt and equity. The new round was led by Matrix Partners India and included participation from Zephyr Peacock, HDFC Bank, and TradeCred.
While Zephyr Peacock, which is known to provide growth capital and management support to Indian SMEs, took part in the equity financing, both HDFC Bank and TradeCred participated in the debt component of the funding round. The valuation of ZippMat after the funding round was unknown.
“ZippMat is building a platform to help our construction community manage their entire supply needs, from planning to order to delivery at the site,” Zippmat CEO Abhijeet Kudva said in a statement. “Our platform provides a real-time collaborative tool for construction companies to plan and manage their supply deliveries transparently and cost-effectively.”
According to the startup, the proceeds from the latest bout of financing will be deployed towards expanding its user base, driving recruitment to grow its team of 25 people, innovating products, as well as digitizing the supply chain. Kudva added that the debt component of the $10 million-financing will aid Zippmat to provide contractors with working capital solutions.
While construction may seem to be an overlooked area in the funding game, the construction tech sector has gained much-needed traction from 2019 to 2021. In fact, it has emerged to be an extremely active zone for investors, which include notable names such as Y Combinator, and others such as Plug and Play Tech Center, Techstars, Shadow Ventures, Brick & Mortar Ventures. These investors have poured in around $28.1 billion in over 14000 companies across the globe.
In India, the construction industry contributes to over 5% of the country’s GDP, and yet, there exists various communication gaps with no proper solution to the various issues faced by construction companies – mainly, project execution delays, increased project costs and access to working capital. This is where ZippMat comes in.
Even though it is a fledgling, the Bengaluru-headquartered startup has been quick to carve a niche of its own with its full-stack Supply-Chain-As-A-Service (SCAAS) offering. Founded last year by Kudva and Nandeesh Hasbi, it tackles issues faced by construction and engineering companies by simplifying the process of acquiring materials with its logistic network a collaboration tool to help them plan and manage their deliveries.
Zippmat is involved in the entire process to the supply needs, from ordering the materials and paying for them. According to the startup, there are five steps to its solution for issues related to the supply chain. With its considerable supplier network, it is able to procure the necessary materials, which they “zipp” as per the needs. The materials are directly shipped to the construction sites, and easy payment options are provided as Zippmat digitizes the supply chain.
Today, ZippMat serves over 30 customers across 10 product categories while delivering at project sites across 10 states. It also claims to be profitable and bring in over ₹100 crores in annualized revenue run rate (ARR).
“We want ZippMat to be a digital assistant for all contractors and suppliers to streamline and simplify their procurement processes. Our dedicated logistics team has built a pan-India logistics network to ensure we deliver materials on time and help reduce project delays,” Hasbi, who is ZippMat’s cofounder and chief business officer.
