[Funding alert] 1K Kirana raises $25M from Alpha Wave, Info Edge Ventures, Kae Capital, others

1K Kirana, a Gurugram-based hyperlocal omnichannel shopping and distribution network, has raised $25 million in its Series B round of funding led by Alpha Wave Ventures, Info Edge Ventures, and Kae Capital. 

The current infusion is the first tranche of a larger round, the company said in a statement. Entrepreneurs like the founders of Zetwerk and GoMechanic have also invested in the ongoing round.

Navroz D Udwadia, Founder and Partner, Alpha Wave, said, 

“Sangeetesh, Abhishek, and Sachin have built a business that combines strong growth with attractive unit economics. We are excited to partner with them as they bring a modern retail experience to underserved consumers in India’s $600 billion+ grocery market.” 

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“The 1K Mall app has already enabled lakhs of non-urban Indians to shop online for the first time. We believe the 1K team is building an iconic company that is transforming how non-urban India shops for their daily needs by widening their choices with higher quality, affordable options,” added Kitty Agarwal, Partner, Info Edge Ventures.

1K was founded by Kumar Sangeetesh, Sachin Sharma, and Abhishek Halder in late 2018 to serve the aspirations of the consumers of India’s smaller cities and towns. With the growing need of going closer to their target demographic, the company opened its first franchise store in early 2020.

Fuelled by $7 million Series A funding in August 2021, the firm claims to have served more than a million consumers across more than 25 districts across Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh through a network of more than 1,000 franchise stores. 

“Within a span of two years, they have emerged as the leader in B2B2C grocery ecommerce with very strong unit economics. We continue to believe in the vision of 1K to bring consumer aspirations closer to them in the smaller cities of Bharat,” said Gaurav Chaturvedi, Partner at Kae Capital.

The founders jointly expressed their happiness on the fundraise, 

“Over the next 12 months, we aim to serve more than 10 million consumers across 100 districts through 5,000 franchise stores”. 

Speaking about the role of technology in their growth, they added, “Technology plays a big role in every decision we make and every process and function we build. We would not have been able to scale so fast without our unwavering commitment to build inclusive technologies for our communities and consumers. It is imperative that we keep on investing in people to build sustainable technologies that last a lifetime and impact millions”.