February 08, 2022 / 09:54 IST
Logistics and commerce startup ElasticRun's valuation has more than tripped to $1.5 billion after it raised $300 million from SoftBank and Goldman Sachs, as per regulatory filings.
ElasticRun, founded by Sandeep Deshmukh, Shitiz Bansal and Saurabh Nigam in 2016, helps kirana or neighbourhood stores source goods and working capital from large FMCG brands. Its platform provides analytics, aggregation, and offers delivery to small towns as well.
The deal makes ElasticRun 2022's seventh Indian unicorn, a term for private startups valued at a billion dollars or more. It also marks SoftBank's first Indian investment this year, after it deployed over $3 billion last year.
The deal hasn't been officially announced yet, as some parts of the transaction haven't closed, said a person aware of the matter, requesting anonymity.
The deal also marks another SoftBank investment away from the typically noisy and hyped consumer internet space. Its other business-to-business bets include logistics firm Delhivery and commerce and lending firm OfBusiness.
This year's other unicorns are Mamaearth, Fractal Analytics, Dealshare, LEAD School, Darwinbox, and Livspace.
Including this round, ElasticRun has raised about $430 million so far from investors such as Kalaari Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, Avataar Ventures and Prosus (Naspers).
ElasticRun was valued at $400 million in April last year when Prosus led a $75 million round.
Moneycontrol
reported last year that SoftBank, long known for its large cheques and aggressive valuations for loss making companies, has turned over a new leaf, writing smaller cheques, owning smaller chunks of companies and picking sectors it has earlier ignored and where it is easier to turn a profit.
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