Swiggy to raise up to $500m in new funding

Food delivery service provider Swiggy is in talks with investors for yet another round of funding. The last funding that Swiggy saw was in late June, when it raised $210 million from a host of investors making it the fastest entrant in the much-coveted unicorn club. The food delivery app is in talks with new and existing investors to raise something between $250 million to $500 million, taking its valuation to anywhere between $2.3 and $2.5 billion. This will be the company′s third round of funding in 2018. New investors that Swiggy held talks with for this round include SoftBank, growth equity firm General Atlantic and a few Chinese hedge funds. Current investors that are part of Swiggy′s latest round of funding are Meituan Dianping and Naspers. At 23 per cent, Naspers currently holds the largest stake in the homegrown company. Swiggy is also planning to diversify into the hyperlocal delivery segment. The online food delivery app is planning to start delivery for categories like medicines and groceries in their diversification strategy. The "concierge-like service" would enable buying and delivery of products from any store in the city including grocery, pharmacies, flower and gift shops. To see this plan to fruition, Swiggy has taken its first step by acquiring Scootsy, an on-demand delivery service based in Mumbai.