Meesho Raises $300 Million in a Funding Round led by SoftBank Vision Fund
Bengaluru-based, social commerce startup, Meesho has raised $300 million in a new round of funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. The round saw the participation of existing investors Prosus Ventures, Facebook, Shunwei Capital, Venture Highway, and Knollwood Investment.
The round values the startup at $2.1 Billion, making it the fourth domestic startup this year to enter India's unicorn club, comprising private firms valued at $1 billion or more.
Insurance tech platform Digit, Innovaccer, a health tech platform, and Infra market, an online marketplace for construction material are the other firms that have joined the top league in 2021.
This investment is SoftBank's first big investment in an Indian startup this year, with a few more in the pipeline.
"With the new round of funding, we are extremely thrilled to have SoftBank onboard. We are focused on expanding our vision from helping aspiring women entrepreneurs to creating Meesho as a single ecosystem that will enable all small businesses in India to succeed online. In last one year, we have seen tremendous growth across small businesses and entrepreneurs seeking to move their businesses online, and with our new vision, we will enable 100 million small businesses to start, succeed and lead their operations online with Meesho as their partner in their journey," says, Vidit Aatrey, Founder & CEO, Meesho.
Meesho, backed by Facebook was founded by IIT-Delhi batchmates Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal in 2015. The platform helps businesses and individuals become sellers on social platforms such as Whatsapp, Facebook, and Instagram.
Meesho claims that it has enabled 13 million entrepreneurs to be selling online through its platform and has a base of 45 million customers in the country. It added that it has onboarded over 65,000 suppliers that sell more than five million products, and has generated Rs 500 crore in income for entrepreneurs using its platform.
Meesho has ranked 19,080 among websites globally based on its 2,826,955 monthly web visitors. The company uses 44 technologies for its website.
“By using the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning, Meesho has created a platform for many small business owners to sell to the next cohort of internet users. We look forward to being a part of this journey", says, Munish Varma, Managing Partner, SoftBank Investment Advisers.
Sumer Juneja, Partner and Head of India at SoftBank Investment Advisers said “We have been closely tracking Meesho for the last 18 months and have been impressed by its growth, daily engagement metrics, focus on unit economics, and ability to create a strong team. We believe Meesho provides an efficient platform for SME suppliers and social resellers to onboard the e-commerce revolution in India and help them provide a personalized experience to consumers.”
The company expects social commerce, which is a $1.5 billion to $2 billion market today, to be worth as much as $20 billion in just five years and will likely hit nearly $70 billion by 2030.
The round values the startup at $2.1 Billion, making it the fourth domestic startup this year to enter India's unicorn club, comprising private firms valued at $1 billion or more.
Insurance tech platform Digit, Innovaccer, a health tech platform, and Infra market, an online marketplace for construction material are the other firms that have joined the top league in 2021.
This investment is SoftBank's first big investment in an Indian startup this year, with a few more in the pipeline.
"With the new round of funding, we are extremely thrilled to have SoftBank onboard. We are focused on expanding our vision from helping aspiring women entrepreneurs to creating Meesho as a single ecosystem that will enable all small businesses in India to succeed online. In last one year, we have seen tremendous growth across small businesses and entrepreneurs seeking to move their businesses online, and with our new vision, we will enable 100 million small businesses to start, succeed and lead their operations online with Meesho as their partner in their journey," says, Vidit Aatrey, Founder & CEO, Meesho.
Meesho, backed by Facebook was founded by IIT-Delhi batchmates Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal in 2015. The platform helps businesses and individuals become sellers on social platforms such as Whatsapp, Facebook, and Instagram.
Meesho claims that it has enabled 13 million entrepreneurs to be selling online through its platform and has a base of 45 million customers in the country. It added that it has onboarded over 65,000 suppliers that sell more than five million products, and has generated Rs 500 crore in income for entrepreneurs using its platform.
Meesho has ranked 19,080 among websites globally based on its 2,826,955 monthly web visitors. The company uses 44 technologies for its website.
“By using the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning, Meesho has created a platform for many small business owners to sell to the next cohort of internet users. We look forward to being a part of this journey", says, Munish Varma, Managing Partner, SoftBank Investment Advisers.
Sumer Juneja, Partner and Head of India at SoftBank Investment Advisers said “We have been closely tracking Meesho for the last 18 months and have been impressed by its growth, daily engagement metrics, focus on unit economics, and ability to create a strong team. We believe Meesho provides an efficient platform for SME suppliers and social resellers to onboard the e-commerce revolution in India and help them provide a personalized experience to consumers.”
The company expects social commerce, which is a $1.5 billion to $2 billion market today, to be worth as much as $20 billion in just five years and will likely hit nearly $70 billion by 2030.
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