No-frills carrier IndiGo's co-founder Rakesh Gangwal has invested $20 million in business-to-business manufacturing unicorn Zetwerk.
Gangwal, who was also former chief executive officer and chairman of US Airways Group, invested in the Bengaluru-based startup through Wheelhouse Venture Capital in a flat round valued at nearly $2.8 billion.
“Gangwal, with his experience spanning several decades, brings insights into building businesses and iconic brands. His guidance will be crucial in building Zetwerk into a generational company,” Zetwerk said in a statement.
The capital infusion comes a few months after Zetwerk raised $120 million in a Series F round led by Avenir Growth Capital when it was first valued at the amount mentioned above.
VCCircle reported in May last year that the company was in the process of closing a funding transaction with the existing and new investors, as it looked to accelerate its growth plans and expand its global presence.
The Bengaluru-based unicorn had last raised $210 million in December 2021 at a valuation of $2.7 billion in a Series F round, barely four months after the Series E round of $150 million at a valuation of $1.33 billion.
The company also counts Sequoia, Accel, ICONIQ Strategic Partners, D1 Capital Partners, Steadview Capital, and Lightspeed as its investors.
Zetwerk more than doubled its revenue in the last financial year to Rs 11,449 crore in operating income on a consolidated basis, according to its financials sourced from VCCEdge, the data intelligence platform of VCCircle. It reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation of Rs 214 crore in FY23, compared with Rs 59 crore in the year before.
Since raising Series E capital in late 2021, Zetwerk has grown rapidly and acquired at least four companies.
The startup bought manufacturing services company Unimacts for around Rs 315 crore in December 2022 to expand its offerings. In June 2022, it acquired three companies for Rs 100 crore to strengthen its business in the oil and gas, aerospace, defence and infrastructure component segments. These companies were Pinaka Aerospace Solutions, the Wardha fabrication unit of Wheels India, and a majority stake in Sharp Tanks.
