[Exclusive] Courier fulfilment startup NimbusPost in final stages of raising $25M

Courier fulfilment startup Nimbuspost is in the final stages of raising $25 million from strategic investors at a valuation of Rs 1,500 crore (approx. $180 million), Founder and CEO Yash Jain told YourStory.

Board members of the strategic investors are also set to participate in the funding round.

The company will use the funding to expand its domestic base and strengthen its international operations in Indonesia and the UK, Jain said. NimbusPost also has a 3,000 sq ft fully-equipped warehouse in Shenzhen, China, and has partnered with airlines for regular flights from China to India.

The firm will also focus on scaling revenue. "We are far behind our competition in terms of total revenues, so the plan is to scale the volume up to Rs 500-600 crore in the next couple of years," Jain added.

NimbusPost will also look to convince its existing large D2C clients such as Emami to launch their products in newer geographies to drive its overseas growth, he noted.

"We’re trying to build a full-stack supply chain solution for D2C brands looking to launch from other markets to Indian markets and Indian markets to other markets. But, for now, the focus is going to be on exports,” Jain remarked.

The company currently operates in international markets, including Indonesia and the UK, to help local brands scale deliveries.

The shipping software provider is expecting to cross the Rs 200-crore revenue mark at the end of the current financial year.

The company registered operating revenue of Rs 114 crore in FY23—more than doubling from Rs 54 crore earned in FY22, as per financial statements filed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Jain highlighted that the company's gross margins have improved to approximately 28% in FY23 from 17-18% in FY22. "As our volumes go up, we will gain negotiation leverage to demand better prices from our vendors," he added.

Expenses grew by 87.7% to Rs 117.65 crore in FY23 from Rs 62.66 crore in FY22 as freight, handling, and servicing costs also grew by 90% in FY23 to Rs 85.91 crore.

It also doubled its expenditure on advertising to nearly Rs 2 crore.

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Employee benefit expenses grew slower compared to other expenses, reaching Rs 18.31 crore in FY23 from Rs 11.5 crore in FY22. Jain explained that a majority of the team is located in smaller cities, with its office in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, having the most employees. This allows them to have lower human resource costs compared to competitors.

NimbusPost's losses have come down by almost 50% to Rs 4.02 crore in FY23 from Rs 7.78 crore in FY22. Even though its EBITDA loss has been reduced by almost Rs 6 crore, Jain is in no hurry to rush towards profitability.

"You can say that we have grown very frugally and sustainably. We have not burned more than Rs 4-5 crore a year. To me, the burn is okay, and we can focus on growth going ahead," he explained.

The company boasts a high customer retention rate, retaining around 85% of customers who make recurring shipments every month. While there is some churn among early-stage sellers due to issues beyond the company's control (e.g., fake delivery attempts), many return to it after experiencing similar problems elsewhere, Jain said.

NimbusPost is also accelerating the use of AI for address correction, customer flagging, and automation in customer support and marketing operations. It has also built an AI allocation engine to optimise courier recommendations based on cost or delivery performance. The database helps it identify underperforming pin codes to avoid unnecessary shipping costs from returns.

Founded in 2008 by Jain, NimbusPost is an Indian logistics and shipping software maker that provides end-to-end solutions for early-stage and midsize ecommerce startups. It also offers international shipping, COD, and fulfilment services.

NimbusPost is 26-year-old Jain's third venture. He started his first company at the age of 18 and completed most of his education through distance learning programmes.

(With inputs from Sowmya Ramasubramanian.)

(The story was updated to remove the names of strategic investors.)