India’s logistics aggregator Ship rocket raises $13M to expand overseas

Shiprocket, a New Delhi-based logistics aggregator that works with direct-to-consumer sellers
including several social media influencers, has raised $13 million in a new financing round as it
looks to expand its platform overseas.

Silicon Valley-based investment firm Tribe Capital led Shiprocket’s Series C financing round.
Innoven Capital and existing investor Bertelsmann India Investments also participated in the
round, which brings the three year-old startup’s to-date funding to $26 million.

Shiprocket works with more than a dozen courier companies in India and negotiates terms such
as the fee and shipment tracking with them on behalf of its sellers, Saahil Goel, co-founder and
chief executive of the startup, told TechCrunch in an interview last year.

The startup today works with more than 35,000 sellers in India and processes about 2 million
shipments each month. It also helps sellers with tackling items that get lost during the shipment
and enabling cash on delivery, the most popular payment option among customers in India.
Gillettte, beauty product chain Mamaearth, beer franchise The Beer Cafe, coaching institute
Aakaash Institute, and craft beer maker Bira are among some brands that use Shiprocket’s
service.

Shiprocket has also become one of the top selling partners for social media influencers in India
who have to take care of the items they sell to their fans themselves. In recent years, a wave of
social commerce startups such as Meesho, backed by Prosus Ventures and Facebook, and
Simsim have emerged in India as they attempt to reshape how people think about buying online.

“One of the reasons why the United States and emerging economies have thrived over the last 50
years has been a healthy dynamic of small to medium entrepreneurial businesses alongside
consolidation and scaling corporations,” said Arjun Sethi, co-founder of Tribe Capital, in a
statement.
“We invested in Shiprocket because they empower the small to medium businesses that truly
represent the heart and soul of any emerging economy. Today, the SME segment lacks capital
finance and credit, infrastructure, technology, and marketing strategies. Shiprocket has enabled
these businesses to grow at a time of emerging competition enabled by mobile internet and
corporations,” he added.

Shiprocket says it will use the fresh capital to expand its data science and engineering teams and
focus on new initiatives including its international expansions. The startup already ships
shipment overseas, it claims it delivers in more than 26,000 zip codes in India and 220 additional
countries and markets.

The startup said it was profitable in the financial year that ended on March 31, 2019 and has an
annualized revenue run rate between $25 million to $30 million. It did not comment on the
impact coronavirus pandemic has had on its business.