Sterne India Pvt. Ltd, which operates retail-technology platform Arzooo, has raised an undisclosed amount in an extended Series B funding round from its existing investors including SBI Investment (the investment arm of Japan’s SBI Group), Trifecta Leaders Fund, Doordash’s founder Tony Xu and 3Lines Venture Capital.
In August 2023, VCCircle reported that the startup is looking to raise around $50 million in fresh funding in a potential Series C funding round.
With this additional funding, Arzooo plans to improve its technological infrastructure and operational efficiency and expand its focus on the consumer durable market in India.
The funding comes more than a year after the startup had raised $70 million in its initial Series B round in 2022. The round saw participation from global and Indian VCs mentioned above.
Arzooo was founded in 2018 by Khushnud Khan and Rishi Raj Rathore, both former Flipkart colleagues and IIT-Kharagpur alumni. The company works with retailers allowing them to scale without the challenges of extensive inventory holding and access to pricing.
It also launched gostor.com a consumer platform taking its partner offline stores online. The business-to-consumer (B2C) platform enables retailers to sell their goods directly to consumers and grow their business by participating in online sales and reducing dependence on store footfalls.
The startup had previously raised Series A funding of $7.5 million, in a round led by US-based technology venture fund WRVI Capital. 3Lines Venture Capital and the UAE-based Jabbar Internet also participated in this funding round.
The company recorded sharp growth in its topline during FY22. It posted net sales of Rs 1,117 crore in FY22 as against Rs 258 crore the year before. But its losses widened to Rs 62 crore from Rs 17 crore.
On the other hand, SBI Group, which was established in 1999 has been providing financial services in a broad range of fields including securities, banking and insurance. In addition to its financial services business, the entity also has an asset management arm, focusing on investment in venture companies.
