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Heron Rock leads Jumbotail’s extended Series B funding round

By Joseph Rai

  • 26 Oct 2020
Heron Rock leads Jumbotail’s extended Series B funding round
Credit: 123RF.com

Jumbotail Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which runs an online marketplace for food and groceries targeted at wholesale buyers, said Monday it has closed its extended Series B funding round.

The startup raised $11 million (Rs 81 crore) in the round that was led by existing investor Heron Rock, an omni-stage venture fund with offices in Toronto and San Francisco, Jumbotail said in a statement.

Nexus Venture Partners, Siddhi Capital, Reaction Fund, Pimpernel Holdings and a group of high-net-worth individuals and industry leaders also participated, it added.

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The extended round comes after Jumbotail raised Rs 90 crore in Series B funding led by Heron Rock last year.

Tom Williams, general partner at Heron Rock, said it is doubling down on its investments in Jumbotail as the fund believes the startup is best positioned to transform food and grocery retail in India.

Jumbotail said it will use the fresh capital to expand its core business-to-business marketplace to new regions across India and expand its network of J24 stores.

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The company will also use the capital to grow its private-label product portfolio and extend its go-to-market services to more fast-moving consumer goods brands that seek to tap kirana stores and standalone supermarkets.

India has around 12 million stores that control more than 95% of the country’s $450 billion food and grocery market, Jumbotail said.

The startup was founded in November 2015 by Stanford University alumni S Karthik Venkateswaran and Ashish Jhina. It offers a wide range of products, including staples, spices, dry fruits, packaged foods and other FMCG items.

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The broader online grocery segment has attracted significant venture funding in India with business-to-consumer firms Bigbasket and Grofers among the most funded.

However, there has also been considerable investor interest in B2B e-commerce startups catering to various segments as they seek to offer efficient procurement and supply chain services to businesses of all sizes.

In October last year, B2B e-commerce platform Udaan pocketed $585 million in its Series D funding round from a clutch of high-profile investors including Chinese conglomerate Tencent.

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ShopKirana E-Trading Pvt. Ltd raised Rs 71.4 crore in a funding round led by Info Edge (India) Ltd, which owns portals including job site Naukri.com, last year. Earlier this year, B2B e-commerce platform Excess2Sell pulled in angel funding of $1 million.

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