Flipkart raises $3.6 billion in funding at $37.6 billion led by GIC and others

The Flipkart Group has raised $3.6 billion in funding, it said in a statement. The new round of funding is by far the largest for any Indian startup. Led by GIC, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Walmart, it also saw participation of sovereign funds DisruptAD, Qatar Investment Authority, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Tencent, Willoughby Capital, Antara Capital, Franklin Templeton and Tiger Global. A press statement from the company, too, added that the fundraise demonstrated significant interest from global investors. This not only included the parent company Walmart, nut also sovereign funds, private equity and crossovers. The investments also marks a return of SoftBank as a shareholder of Flipkart. The former had exited the startup in 2018 when Walmart acquired Flipkart.

Commenting on the funding, Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart Grouo said, “At Flipkart, we are committed to transforming the consumer internet ecosystem in India and providing consumers access and value. This investment by leading global investors reflects the promise of digital commerce in India and their belief in Flipkart’s capabilities to maximise this potential for all stakeholders. As we serve our consumers, we will focus on accelerating growth for millions of small and medium Indian businesses, including kiranas. We will continue to invest in new categories and leverage made-in-India technology to transform consumer experiences and develop a world-class supply chain.”

“Flipkart is a great business whose growth and potential mirrors that of India as a whole. That’s why we invested in 2018 and why we continue to invest today,” said Judith McKenna, President and CEO of Walmart International, in a statement.

The Flipkart Super App idea?

The Flipkart platform alone has more than 350 million registered users from across the country. Moving forward it has been investing in key categories. Some major sectors include - fashion, travel and grocery. These reflect India’s maturing digital commerce industry. A round up of Flipkart's sector investments

• Myntra, the Group’s fashion entity, is among the leaders in the category. It has a wide consumer base offering the most comprehensive and latest collections in fashion.

• Flipkart Group also owns a logistics and supply chain arm, Ekart. The company employs more than 100,000 people and makes deliveries to more than 90 per cent of the addressable pin-codes in India. Ekart, coupled with strategic warehouse infrastructure investments, is one of the group’s core strengths.

• Venturing into the social commerce space, Flipkart recently announced the launch of Shopsy, which will encourage local entrepreneurship.

• Samarth, Flipkart’s programme to support small businesses, underserved communities and artisans, has more than 750,000 beneficiaries.

• The group is also a majority shareholder in PhonePe, one of the leading Payments Apps in India. It has more than 300 million users, facilitating over 1 billion transactions per month; 80 per cent of which occur in tier 2 and 3 cities and beyond.