[Funding alert] Intra-city logistics company Porter raises Rs 750 Cr led by Tiger Global, Vitruvian Partners

On-demand logistics company Porter has raised Rs 750 crore in its Series E funding round led by Tiger Global Management and Vitruvian Partners, with participation from existing investors — Sequoia Capital India and Lightrock India.

The company will leverage the capital infusion to consolidate its position, focus on acquiring talent, and expand operations to enter the top 35 cities of India by 2023, further strengthening its position as a leader in the logistics market, it said in a statement.

Founded in 2014 by Pranav Goel, Uttam Digga, and Vikas Choudhary, Mumbai-based Porter is a logistics marketplace that allows businesses to book vehicles on demand for completing their intra-city logistics needs. Currently, Porter works with ecommerce, FMCG, SMEs, traders, 3PLs, courier, and cargo companies. It disrupted various domains of logistics by launching an on-demand marketplace for LCVs and bikes — Porter for Enterprise and Packers and Movers.

Talking about the funding, Pranav Goel, CEO, Porter said, "We are excited to welcome the two marquee global funds with a great track record of backing enduring businesses world over. This funding round, in the current economic scenario, is a testament of the execution of the entire Porter team."

"The idea behind Porter was to solve the existing market gap between demand and supply by creating a tech-enabled liquid marketplace to drive better vehicle utilisation and service levels for our users. Over the years, we have realised that apart from being a great business opportunity, we have a chance to make a positive impact on the lives of over two lakh driver-partners. Everyday, it still feels like we are at Day 1 in this exciting journey, and we are grateful to have partners who share our vision," he added.

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Porter, in its statement, added that a unique marketplace results in massive benefits to all stakeholders. Drivers earn 30 percent more, customers save 20 percent on logistics costs, and have a better experience with lower wait times and higher availability. Porter is also one of the only logistics models that is 100 percent asset-light and has a negative working capital cycle, it added.

“In a challenging market, Porter has developed excellent repeat driver and customer cohorts, demonstrating the platform’s unique value. We are excited to partner with Porter as it reinvents and markedly improves intra-city logistics across India,” said Griffin Schroeder, Partner, Tiger Global.

Tiger Global Management is an investment firm focused on private and public companies in the internet, software, and financial technology sectors. Since 2001, Tiger Global has invested in hundreds of companies across more than 30 countries, at stages ranging from Series A to pre-IPO. Tiger Global's investments have included JD.com, UiPath, Stripe, Databricks, Bytedance, Snowflake, Facebook, Alibaba, Procore, Chime, Blend, Peloton, Attentive, LinkedIn, Flipkart, and Toast.

Porter said that it has consistently achieved triple-digit annual growth since its launch in 2014, and has been growing faster with scale as network effects play out. The company now has a presence in over 13 cities across India with more than 50 lakh customers and over two lakh owner-drivers on board. Porter has created disruption in various domains of logistics by launching an on-demand marketplace for LCVs and bikes, Porter for Enterprise and Packers & Movers.