According to a source familiar with the subject, Tribe Finance is in discussions to lead a $75 million to $100 million fundraising round into logistics aggregator Shiprocket, a significant financing decision at a time when most Indian businesses are struggling to secure finance.
The finance conversations are still continuing, and the parameters may alter, according to two people who asked to remain anonymous because the discussions are confidential. Tribe Capital and Shiprocket did not respond to requests for comment.
Shiprocket, based in New Delhi, provides an e-commerce logistics and shipping software solution for courier services. Its platform uses a machine learning-based data engine that suggests appropriate courier service for a business, selects a courier firm, generates shipping labels, and monitors orders all from a single panel, allowing companies to handle their shipping and returns quickly and efficiently.
Shiprocket, which has backing from Temasek and Zomato, intends to go public in the next 12 to 18 months, according to a business note that Eltrys obtained. According to the source, its yearly run rate was more than $165 million at the end of September.
Shiprocket claims on its website that it works with 250,000 merchants in India who do up to 200 million transactions every year.
The business intends to extend its financing options to retailers and to give customers purchase-now, pay-later options. According to the internal paper, it plans to increase its revenue runrate to over $500 million by the end of 2025. According to another source familiar with the company’s ambitions, it is also trying to extend its cross-border shipping and checkout options.
Tribe Capital, an existing Shiprocket sponsor, is hoping to extend its India emphasis. Its CEO, Arjun Sethi, said earlier this year that the business is trying to create a $250 million India-focused fund.
According to market intelligence platform Tracxn, Indian entrepreneurs will have collected around $7 billion in financing in 2023, down from approximately $25 billion in 2022 and $37 billion in 2021, reflecting the slow investment rate in startup ecosystems internationally. It is, in fact, the lowest in seven years.
Late-stage financing fell the most precipitously, at more than 73% year on year. Furthermore, there were just 17 mega-rounds worth more than $100 million this year, a 69% decline from 2021.
