[Funding alert] DotPe secures $27.5M in Series A from PayU, Info Edge Ventures, Google

Gurgaon-based offline-to-online commerce platform DotPe, on Friday, announced it has raised $27.5 million in Series A funding, making it the first O2O company in India to receive such a substantial amount within a year of launch.

The round was led by its early investor, PayU, the payments and fintech business of Prosus Ventures, resulting in an increase in the existing stake in the company.

Info Edge Ventures has doubled down on its seed investment in the company made last year and more than doubled its shareholding. Google joins as a new investor.

According to a press statement, the fresh funding will be deployed towards accelerating product development, market expansion and scaling technology to meet the fast-growing market demand.

Kitty Agarwal, Partner, Info Edge Ventures stated, “DotPe has seen rapid adoption by merchants across industries- enterprises and SMBs- within a year of launch. The product experience and merchant and consumer stickiness is best-in-class with many marquee brands now expanding use cases with them and integrating even more deeply. We see DotPe as an integrated commerce and fintech platform that empowers merchants and enables them to control their digital presence, discoverability, commerce, payments etc. to complete their offline-to-online journey and are excited about the possibilities ahead."

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On the SMB front, their product Digital Showroom has on-boarded over five million merchants within six months of launch in September 2020. The product enables merchants to sell online by creating a digital storefront and accepting orders through WhatsApp.

Speaking about the new fund raise, Shailaz Nag, Co-founder, DotPe, said,

“We are thrilled to see our existing investors, PayU and Info Edge Ventures, backing our vision and doubling down on their funding as new business horizons open up. We are pleased to add Google, an innovation leader, as an investor.

This new partnership will empower businesses (big or small) to be more discoverable, expand business avenues and conduct commerce like never before. Pandemic or not, we are here to reimagine the way offline businesses work and bring the digital revolution to the doorstep of every entrepreneur.   

The startup claims that, in the last 12 months, over five million Indian consumers have switched to the hassle-free way of ordering and buying from DotPe’s merchants using its platform. Over 38 percent of orders daily are now through repeat consumers, claims the startup.

Commenting on the investment, Anirban Mukherjee, CEO, PayU India, said,

“In a very short time, DotPe has acquired a promising merchant base with its impeccable product experience and innovation. We have always believed in fostering innovation by working with such disruptive, early-stage startups. 

"Under Shailaz’s leadership, we believe DotPe is positioned for rapid expansion as it disrupts and transforms the offline to online segment. They also align seamlessly with PayU’s vision of digitising payments in India by enabling merchants of all sizes. We are thrilled to build on our initial investment and continue to support the company on its journey."

Founded in 2020 by PayU Founder Shailaz Nag, with Gyanesh Sharma and Anurag Gupta, DotPe has successfully digitised enterprises as well as SMB customers through a full-stack solution — from giving them an online presence to enabling seamless ordering (in-store and remote), online payments and delivery.

It claims to have deep integration with 10,000+ restaurants and food courts, including leading global and domestic FnB brands.

“In the last few months, we’ve seen an acceleration in offline players seeking to move their businesses online. We’re pleased to back young companies like DotPe that are supporting India’s digital transformation by connecting consumers and merchants through helpful, innovative tools. This investment under Google for India digitization fund underlines our belief in working with India’s start-up ecosystem towards the goal of building a more inclusive digital economy that will benefit everyone,” said Sanjay Gupta, VP & Country Head, Google India.