SoftBank leads $200 mln investment in India’s Grofers

Grofers' fresh funding comes after homegrown rival Bigbasket, which is backed by China's Alibaba Group, recently raised $150 million to hit a valuation of over $1 billion.

People walk behind the logo of SoftBank Corp in Tokyo. (Reuters photo)

Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp has led an investment round of more than $200 million in online grocery startup Grofers India through its Vision Fund, the New Delhi-based company said on Wednesday, upping competition in a hotly chased market in the country.

Grofers’ fresh funding comes after homegrown rival Bigbasket, which is backed by China’s Alibaba Group, recently raised $150 million to hit a valuation of over $1 billion. Both the startups compete with the likes of Amazon.com and Walmart Inc’s e-commerce unit Flipkart for various categories.

“This latest investment will help scale the company to ensure many more customers can access the best quality products at the best prices,” Chief Executive Albinder Dhindsa said in a statement. Grofers did not say what it was valued at after the funding.

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Softbank’s Vision Fund was set up in 2017 and is now the world’s largest technology investment fund, with a portfolio that includes pioneer Uber Technologies Inc, chip designer ARM and shared workspace firm WeWork.

The Japanese firm is considering an initial public offering of its $100 billion fund, a source told Reuters earlier this month.