Meshu, a leading e-commerce startup in India with around 150 million transacting users, has raised $275 million in a new funding round. Disclosure In securities filings.
People familiar with the matter told TechCrunch that the new funding is part of a larger financing round that is likely to include a secondary transaction and a balloon of more than $500 million.
The Bengaluru-headquartered startup, which operates a social commerce platform, has been valued at around $3.9 billion, the people said, requesting anonymity, as talks are still ongoing. The startup, which has raised more than $1.2 billion to date, was valued at $4.9 billion when it last raised capital in September 2021.
There are a few investors looking to get into Mashu, including WestBridge Capital and Norwest Venture Partners. Westbridge last year bought Mashu’s stake from Venture Highway, an early backer. The company counts Meta, Fidelity, Peak XV, Prosus Ventures, B Capital, and SoftBank among its backers.
Indian daily The Economic Times First reported New funding.
Meshu is one of the fastest growing e-commerce startups in the country. Its run-rate GMV was more than $5 billion, Bernstein analysts estimated earlier this year.
Meshu has successfully captured the attention of value-conscious Indians with its attractively priced, diverse and unbranded product assortment. The startup’s value proposition seems to be resonating well with low- to middle-income consumers, who make up the bulk of India’s consumer segment.
With 440,000 sellers transacting annually and over 120 million listings, Meesho boasts one of the widest product assortments across platforms, catering to the complex and heterogeneous preferences of the Indian market, Jefferies said. wrote in a recent note to its clients.
Traditional e-commerce platforms in India have focused primarily on high-income consumers and branded suppliers, resulting in average order values (AOVs) of more than ₹1,000 (around $12). In contrast, Meshu’s AOV is usually less than ₹350.
“Mesho’s algorithm prioritizes listings by considering a number of factors including seller ratings, product ratings, customer reviews, customers’ past buying behavior, product popularity, etc. Hence, Pricing also affects the discovery of a product listing in the market.” wrote analysts at Jefferies.
Mesho’s fulfillment fees are much lower than peers, which allows the platform to offer lower prices to users versus the competition. To reduce costs, Mesho follows an asset-light model and outsources delivery. Mashu accounts for nearly half of India’s annual 3PL e-logistics shipments,” Jefferies’ note read.
But the competition is hot. Amazon India recently launched Bazaar, a “specialty store” featuring affordable and trendy fashion and lifestyle products.
Credit : techcrunch.com
