Qtrove and Uber rival Taxify raise funds; Alibaba Group leads investment in ZTO Express

Launched in 2015 by Vinamra Pandiya and Prashanth Nagarajan, curated online marketplace Qtrove, which rounds up non-factory made products on its platform, has raised Rs 350 crore from Springboard Ventures – Brand Capital, an investment arm of media house Times Group’s holding company Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd.

Taxify, one of Uber’s largest rivals in Europe and Africa, has entered the unicorn club after a fundraising round led by German automaker Daimler. The round also saw participation by fresh investors Korelya Capital and Transferwise founder Taavet Hinrikus, as well as existing investors including Didi Chuxing, and raised $175 million for the Estonian company at a $1 billion valuation. Taxify founders Markus and Martin Villig plan to use the proceeds to build further technology capabilities and expand further geographically.

The Alibaba Group, through its logistics arm Cainiao Network, has led a round of investment in Chinese express delivery company ZTO Express. Alibaba did not reveal who the other investors in the round were, but revealed that the investment was to the tune of $1.38 billion. In exchange, the investors will get about a 10 percent equity stake in ZTO, which has been a longstanding delivery and logistics partner for Alibaba.

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