[Funding alert] Ecommerce startup Foxy's parent company EkAnek Network raises Rs 40 Cr
EkAnek Network plans to use the funds to expand to Abu Dhabi. It also plans to hire and build a team of data scientists, product managers, and engineers.
Delhi-based EkAnek Networks announced on Monday it has raised Rs 40 crore in its Series A1 investment round. The funding round was led by Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI), a $300 million venture fund managed by Falcon Edge Capital. Existing investors, Matrix Partners India, Sequoia Capital India, and Lightspeed India also participated in the round.
EkAnek Network is the parent company of recently launched beauty and grooming ecommerce startup, Foxy. The company said it will use the freshly raised funds to expand its presence in Abu Dhabi. The Emirate will be the global base for Foxy's international expansion to the GCA, MENA and other regional markets. Additionally, EkAnek plans to hire and build a team of data scientists, product managers, and engineers in Abu Dhabi.
Navroz Udwadia, Cofounder of Falcon Edge Capital, said in a release:
"Foxy will offer mobile-first consumers a differentiated approach to supply, curation, and fulfilment of beauty products. In addition, EkAnek’s unique B2B2C full-stack offering will drive tighter brand relationships with the platforms and consumers to offer consumers globally an unrivalled experience of beauty products.”
EkAnek was founded by IIM Ahmedabad alumnus Kartik Sheth, IIT Delhi graduate Sachin Singhal, and IIT Kharagpur graduate Chandranshu in 2018.
EkAnek provides its brand partners with full stack solution to drive D2C operations. This includes curation, brand logistics, marketing tools, influencer networks, and video commerce. The company was recently selected in the 2020 cohort for Google for Startups Accelerated India.
GV Ravishankar, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital India LLP, said: “In India’s rapidly expanding lifestyle market, purchase decisions are increasingly being driven by personalised content and relevant influencers, especially in non-metros. Kartik's deep experience in having built large brands and FOXY’s highly personalised commerce-through-content strategy uniquely positions them to capture this fast growing space, putting them on an accelerated path to value creation.”
Foxy offers personalised shopping experiences incorporating selfie-analysis, targeted curation, and differentiated fulfillment. EkAnek already has more than 120 brand and over 6,000 beauty and grooming influencers on its platform.