Rivigo becomes 8th unicorn of 2019 after raising $4.9M from South Korea's KB Global

Technology-enabled logistics startup Rivigo has now entered the unicorn club after raising $4.97 million from KB Global platform fund, the investment arm of South Korea-based KB Financial Group Inc.

As per the Registrar of Companies (RoC) filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, a total of 1,263 cumulative convertible preference shares (CCP shares) were allotted to the KB Global platform fund, with a premium capped at Rs 2,79,143/- per subscription share.

While the startup has not commented anything about the latest fundraise and the valuation, the total valuation of Rivigo is expected to be $1.05 billion, after its valued went up to $950 million when it raised Series E funding of $65 million in July this year.

With a fund size of $190 million, KB Global allotted 40 percent of its portfolio to Korean startups, with a primary focus to invest in fintech and biotech startups in Southeast Asia. Earlier, in July this year, the fund also invested in Singapore-based cab aggregator Grab.

Online grocery startup Bigbasket, ecommerce and logistics startup Delhivery, cloud data protection and management startup Druva, Ola Electric, the EV arm of Ola, gaming startup Dream11, healthcare startup CitiusTech, and contract management startup Icertis are among the other unicorns that emerged in 2019.

The Series E round for Rivigo came from its existing investors SAIF Partners and Warburg Pincus. It stated that the funds would be used to further strengthen its technology and network coverage, which is a key game changer for the larger logistics market in the country. Adding up to the momentum, the startup recently launched National Freight Index (NFI) in order to bring transparency to the largely unorganised logistics space.

When it comes to relay trucking model, Rivigo is the only company in India and in the world that uses this unique model. Gazal Kalra, Co-founder of Rivigo, once told YourStory,

"The amount of AI and blockchain you can use in logistics is unparalleled. We generate so much data. Something as simple as driver routing can be made much more efficient with machine learning and AI."

When the ecommerce industry took flight in India, one sector that immediately gained prominence was the logistics space, as startups rushed to provide efficient business-to-consumer (B2C) supply chain solutions to online retailers. 

Now, the large but fragmented logistics sector is once again emerging the darling of investors and startups alike – only this time, in the business to business (B2B) space.

Thanks to the growing need for tech-enabled, innovation-driven solutions to transform the logistics and supply chain market, investor interest in startups in the space has already seen a notable increase.

Founded in 2014 as TruckFirst, Gurugram-based Rivigo has innovated with its relay trucking model, which ensures the drivers are behind the wheel for a maximum of four-five hours at a stretch, and reach home the same day.

(Edited by Megha Reddy)

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