[Funding alert] Foodtech unicorn Zomato raises $150M at a valuation of $3B

Indian foodtech unicorn Zomato has raised $150 million as a part of a fresh fund raise from existing investor, Ant Financial. Post this funding, the total valuation of the company stands at around $3 billion, sources familiar with the deal confirmed to YourStory.

The current round of funding is a part of Zomato’s larger $500 million fund raise, which the startup is looking to close before the end of this quarter. Earlier it was reported that the total round was due to close this month.

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When YourStory reached out, Zomato in a statement, said, 

“We confirm that we have raised $150 million from Ant Financial as a part of a larger round. Ant Financial has been a steadfast partner in our journey towards achieving market leadership in on-demand food delivery in India and dining out globally."  

Zomato refused to comment on where the funds will be used, and what will be the ascribed valuation of the company, after the close of its $500 million fund raise.  

In December, Zomato had reportedly said that it was looking to be profitable by end of 2020.

“In a year's time, we should be a profitable company. We have been able to reduce our cash burn by around 70 percent from what it was seven months ago," Zomato Founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal had told PTI in December.

According to the foodtech major, the startup's current cash burn is $15 million per month.

However, in FY19 the Gurugram-based food delivery company’s losses widened from Rs 106 crore in FY18 to Rs 1,001 crore in FY19, marking a 9.4X rise.

Along with this, in FY19, Zomato’s revenue soared to Rs 1,397 crore, marking a 188-percent jump from the revenue of Rs 485 crore it reported for the previous financial year.

In July of 2019, Zomato completed 11 years. Over the years, the foodtech platform diversified itself from just being a restaurant search company to a food delivery company. 

Backed by Sequoia Capital, Singapore government's Temasek Holdings, and Indian ecommerce player Info Edge, Zomato in India serves around 25 million customers in more than 500 cities.

Last month, it was also reported by several other media that Zomato is close to acquiring Uber’s food delivery operations, UberEats. This is on the condition that the ride-hailing giant will put additional funding into the joint entity.  According to media reports, if the deal comes through the combined entity will become the largest foodtech player in India, outpacing arch-rival Swiggy.

Until now, competitor Swiggy has raised more than $1.5 billion in funding till date and counts Naspers, DST Global, Coatue Management, Tencent, Accel and SAIF Partners, as investors.

Swiggy’s last $1 billion fund raise, led by Naspers in December 2018, ascribed the company a valuation of $3.3 billion.    

(Edited by Evelyn Ratnakumar)

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