Chaayos in talks with Tiger Global, SIDBI Venture Capital to raise fresh funding

Tea cafe chain Chaayos is in talks with existing investor Tiger Global and new investor SIDBI Venture Capital Limited (SVCL) to raise a new round of funding, according to two people privy to the development. The company is likely to use the fresh fund for expanding its cafes in the country.

About USD 6-8 million worth funds are expected to be raised from the round which is likely to see participation from a few more investors.

The valuation of the company is expected to be the same as during its previous round of funding in 2015, indicating a subdued mood in the market for late stage rounds in Indian startups. The company had raised close to USD 5 million by Tiger Global in 2015.

Chaayos and SVCL didn't respond to emails sent. Tiger is yet to respond to the questions sent by Moneycontrol.

The company is likely to use the fresh fund for expanding its cafes in the country. The tea cafe chain was founded in November 2012 by Raghav Verma and Nitin Saluja.

Chaayos competes with major players such as in tea cafes such as Chai Point, Chai Thela and Tea Trails. Companies such as Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) have also started offering various varieties of tea under their banners.

While Chai Point raised USD 10 million in a new round led by Fidelity’s proprietary investment arm — Eight Roads Ventures in 2015, Chai Thela recently raised Rs 1.2 crore from early stage investment firm Quarizon. Tea Trails in 2015 raised USD 1 million from a group of high net individuals.

Chaayos is currently running 31 outlets across Delhi-NCR and Mumbai. It plans to expand to Southern India, going forward. For Delhi-NCR the plan is to have 5-6 more cafes in the next couple of months, Verma had told Moneycontrol in an interaction in January.