BigBasket raises $300M led by Alibaba

Bangalore based online grocery delivery startup BigBasket has has raised $300 million in a fresh funding round led by Chinese e-tailer Alibaba. The funding round also saw participation from other investors such as UAE-based private equity investor Abraaj Group, Sands Capital, and International Finance Corporation.

The company plans to use the investment to build farmer networks, expand deeper into existing cities, and become the most preferred employer for blue-collar jobs.

Hari Menon, co-founder and chief executive, BigBasket, said, "We wanted a strategic investor and saw Alibaba as the best fit....The funds will be directed towards bettering our technological, analytical, and infrastructural prowess, all of which will enable the company to move up the curve. BigBasket is currently partnering with about 1800 farmers throughout the country and aims to become the ‘most preferred partner’ for up to 3000 of them. While we already enjoy the appreciation and trust of BigBasketeers, our strategy is to eventually become the one-stop-shop for all customer needs in future.”

Earlier, here had been reports that Alibaba and Paytm Mall were in talks with Big Basket to invest $200 million into the grocery company. However, Paytm Mall has not invested in BigBasket.

Big Basket, which was founded in 2011 by Hari Menon, Vipul Parekh, Abhinay Chaudhary and VS Sudhakar, was valued at $450 million during its last fundraising led by Abraaj Group.

Earlier, Alibaba also invested around $200 million in online food delivery startup Zomato, which saw its valuation go past the $1 billion mark.