BENGALURU: Social e-commerce startup DealShare is the latest company to enter the coveted unicorn club after it bagged $165 million in the Series E funding round. New investors Dragoneer Investments Group, Kora Capital and Unilever Ventures participated in this round along with existing investors Tiger Global and Alpha Wave Global (Falcon Edge).
The three-year-old company has been growing strongly in terms of its consumer acquisition and revenue base and expects to hit $1 billion revenues in the near term. The funds raised in this round will be utilised to invest in technology and data science, as well as a ten-fold expansion in its logistics infrastructure and to increase geographic reach.
In addition, it will establish a sizable offline store franchise network. DealShare offers 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.
Vineet Rao, founder & CEO of DealShare, said, "Our revenues and customer base have grown 13 times in the last year with improving profitability. With a strong customer base of over 10 million, we have expanded our geographical presence to over 100 cities across 10 states."
"We will be utilising the proceeds from the round to invest heavily into technology, improving the supply chain and expanding our footprint throughout the country. We will also invest in acquiring technologies and marquee brands that are focused on the mass market”, Rao added.
Sourjyendu Medda, founder and Chief Business Officer, DealShare, said that the company is witnessing very high growth in its business, and this year, they will be expanding to over 200 cities across 20 states.
"We are setting an audacious goal to increase our annual revenue run rate to $3 billion while becoming operationally profitable. We also aim to add close to 50 million new consumers in the next 12 months," he said.