India-based social e-commerce start-up DealShare announced Thursday that it has raised another $45 million as part of its series E funding round from a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) which takes the company’s total funding to $393 million and valuation to $1.7 billion.
The company will use the funds from its Series E funding round to power product innovation and technology to support its rapid growth and expanding customer base, DealShare said in a statement.
“We are thrilled to welcome ADIA as a shareholder as part of our next phase of growth. The support that we have been receiving from the investor community is very encouraging. It is a testimony of the confidence in DealShare’s vision, business model, and an acknowledgment of the growth we have been exhibiting. In a span of just 3 years, we have scaled to over 10 million customers and over 100 cities across 10 states,” said Vineet Rao, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DealShare.
According to him, the firm will be utilizing the funds from its Series E round to strengthen its customer base and technology capabilities.
“We aim to democratize online shopping for Bharat users with unmatched service and experience by developing innovative products and tech solutions. This will be supported by building our teams across the country and hiring new tech talent at all levels,” he said.
He also said there is an immense opportunity for the group’s business outside India as well, and he would be exploring international expansion in the coming years.
DealShare is a social commerce company focused on catering to the 500Mn new-to-internet and value seeking users. It offers high-quality, low-priced essentials coupled with a gamified, fun-filled, and virality-driven shopping experience, making it easy for first-time internet users to experience online shopping.
Currently, DealShare is present in 100+ cities across 10 states, and it plans to expand to 200+ cities across 20 states in 2022. The company has acquired more than
10 million consumers and adds lacs of new consumers every month.
Since its inception, the company’s focus has been to procure products from local manufacturers and provide them with a platform to digitize their business and scale their local brands. At present, it has partnered with over 1,000 local and regional brands and sources its products directly from the manufacturers.
“DealShare is arguably the fastest growing e-commerce company in India. We are in touching distance of hitting $1B of gross revenue run rate with just three years in operation. We are likely to hit $3 billion of gross revenue run rate in the next 12 months. We will be tripling our geographical presence, investing heavily on acquiring top notch tech talent, and building world class supply chain infrastructure to aid this growth along with continued focus on capital efficiency and path to profitability. We are targeting operational profitability by the end of this year,” said Sourjyendu Medda, Founder and Chief Business Officer of DealShare.
Founded by Vineet Rao, Sourjyendu Medda, Sankar Bora, and Rajat Shikhar in 2018, DealShare provides a sharp and curated assortment at highly competitive prices and has built an innovative community leader driven ultra-low-cost delivery mechanism, collectively leading to best-in-class unit economics.
“India’s e-commerce ecosystem is developing rapidly, and DealShare is addressing an underserved and growing segment within it. This investment aligns with our approach of backing innovative businesses with differentiated business models to execute on their growth strategies,” said Hamad Shahwan Al Dhaheri, Executive Director of the Private Equities Department at ADIA.
In January 2022, DealShare raised $165 million in the first close of its Series E fundraise. The company welcomed Dragoneer Investments Group, Kora Capital, Unilever Ventures, and continued commitments from its existing commitments investors, Tiger Global and Alpha Wave Global (Falcon Edge).