Internet provider Wiom nears deal with Accel, Bertelsmann to raise around Rs 85 crore

(From left) Satyam Darmora, Founder of Wiom, Nishit Aggarwal, Ashutosh Mishra and Maanas Dwivedi, the other co-founders of the Delhi-based startup

Wiom, an affordable internet services provider, is in talks to raise Rs 85 crore ($10 million) from Accel and Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), people aware of the developments told Moneycontrol. The company is engaging with Prosus and it is likely that the Dutch investor will also come onboard along with the other two venture capital firms, they added.

The negotiations around a new round come roughly 18 months after the Delhi-based company raised $17 million (about Rs 140 crore) from RTP Global, YourNest, Omidyar Network India and others in July 2023. It also comes at a time when the company, which provides unlimited internet for as low as Rs 10, has been reaching more households to expand footprint and grow its scale.

“Wiom’s talks with Accel and BII are in advanced stages and the round size may even increase slightly if Prosus also joins the round. The company is commanding a valuation of $110 million (Rs 935 crore) pre-money,” one of the persons cited above told Moneycontrol.

Pre-money valuation means the company's worth just before the fundraise. The company's post-money valuation will be the pre-money valuation plus the total amount raised.

Accel, BII, Prosus and Wiom did not reply to Moneycontrol’s queries seeking details.

User base

In July 2023, when Wiom had closed its previous round, it said it had over 3 lakh users and aims to reach more than 15 crore users in the next five years. Founded in 2020 by Satyam Darmora, Nishit Aggarwal, Ashutosh Mishra, and Maanas Dwivedi, Wiom provides internet connection to middle and lower-middle-income households through its platform-led distribution model.

The company, which is largely popular in Delhi, is built on the PM-WANI framework, launched by the Government of India, which aims to provide affordable internet access to 500 million Indians over the next five years.

“Air, water, food and (the) internet are the new essentials of modern life. Every individual in our country must be able to afford 24/7 unlimited internet…,” Darmora had said in a statement back in July 2023.
In over four years, the company has raised over $20 million from Blume Founders Fund, Global Brain, Auxano Capital and several others.

Betting on Bharat

By investing in Wiom, Accel, one of the most prolific consumer investors in India, looks to further its thesis of backing companies building for Bharat, or the non-metro Indian cities. As part of that plan, it has already invested in startups such as CityMall, Arivihan, ApnaMart, Money View, S4S Technologies and others that are part of its growing list. Those are companies that Accel is betting on apart from, Swiggy and others, that are largely building for the top 15-20 percent of India’s population.

“Many traditional markets across sectors remain fragmented and unorganised, presenting numerous opportunities ripe for innovation. We believe that this market (Bharat) is more ripe for disruption than ever before. The issue lies more with the supply side than with the demand. Founders need to take a crack at the Bharat opportunity,” Accel said on its website.

For other investors, such as Prosus, the Wiom investment comes at a time when the investor is increasing its exposure to India, the third largest startup ecosystem in the world. Prosus cut large cheques for Mintifi and Vastu Housing Finance earlier this month and has taken its total exposure to over $8 billion in India.