[Funding alert] Tech-led jobs platform Awign raises funds from Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, others

Tech-led jobs platform Awign said it has raised funds from existing investors Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, Unitus Ventures, and Eagle10 Ventures that will be used to finance its expansion to more cities and introduce new services.

The company, however, did not say how much money was raised in the latest pre-series B funding round. Till now, it has raised about $4.9 million, including the latest round.

Set up by Annanya Sarthak, Gurpreet Singh, and Praveen Sah in 2016, Awign has worked with over 1.5 lakh people, and grown 25x in the last two years. Currently, it manages a diverse fleet of trained gig workforce across more than 7,000 pin codes in India.

Gig workers are independent and temporary workers. They enter into formal agreements with on-demand companies to provide services to the company's clients.

"In the new normal, strong on-ground last mile assignments and supply-chain support emerged as the backbone of many businesses. As the country adapts to the steadiness of a less-contact world, we see large-scale demand for conventional last mile delivery, retail/restaurant audits etc and new gigs online video content monitoring, online exam proctoring etc," Awign co-founder and CEO Annanya Sarthak said.

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This has confirmed the outlook Awign had about rapidly deploying demand-based gig jobs across the country, he added.

"We want to emerge as the largest platform in the world for the gig workforce...The funds will be utilised to increase Awign's presence in more than 15,000 pin codes, execute 10 million tasks in two years, and introduce new products to adapt and suit rapidly evolving business needs," he said.

Demonstrating the impact Awign has created for the gig workforce, the average income of supply-chain partners has doubled in the past one year from pre-pandemic levels, he noted.

Will Poole, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Unitus Ventures said, Awign has shown consistent evolution of its services' efficacy, has strengthened its gig supply side, and is rapidly building trust on the demand side.

"Their revenues dropped by 96 percent during the lockdown. By managing costs and addressing new customer requirements, they recovered to pre-COVID levels already. This proved their mettle as a gig economy leader and has reaffirmed our confidence in the business, he said.

Awign's gig candidates are trained and engaged to complete these tasks on the platform. Businesses are billed for outcomes, and not work hours - which works out more economical for them. Awign's services are utilised by companies across sectors like edutech, content marketing platforms, hospitality, ecommerce, mobility, IT, BFSI, fintech, and others.

Its customers include names like Swiggy, ITC, Bigbasket, Britannia, and Aditya Birla Capital.