Business-to-business (B2B) marketplace startup Bulk MRO Industrial Supply Pvt. Ltd, which is backed by US incubator Y Combinator, has raised Rs 25 crore ($3.3 million) in a debt funding round led by Stride Ventures.
"Stride Ventures is a very nimble partner that brings to the table a tremendous network, creativity, and capability of high speed execution that is unparalleled," said Gaurang Shah, co-founder of Bulk MRO.
Bulk MRO, which was founded in 2015 by Shah and Devang Shah, is a technology platform that enables the supply chain procurement needs of its customers and suppliers.
It has aggregated more than 5,000 brands and 1.5 million products on its platform, according to its website. It also runs a fintech platform, Bulk Udhaar, which offers supply chain financing solutions to its customers and suppliers.
"The company addresses a simple yet rampant problem faced by businesses in India and they’re tapping into a huge opportunity," said Ishpreet Gandhi, managing partner at Stride Ventures.
Bulk MRO had raised funding in a around led by Japanese investor Rebright Partners earlier this year.
The startup had first raised external funding from Y Combinator in 2017, according to VCCEdge, the research arm of Mosaic Digital.
In the same year, it also raised capital from a clutch of other investors including Bain Capital, FJ Labs, and Ace & Company.
The company has recorded scorching topline growth.
Its filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs shows Bulk MRO’s total revenue more than doubled to Rs 75.85 crore in the year ended 31 March 2019 from Rs 30.84 crore in the previous year.
However, it swung to a net loss of Rs 37 lakh from a net profit of Rs 17.18 lakh during the period.
Stride Ventures
Stride Ventures had marked the first close of its debut venture debt fund at Rs 100 crore ($14 million) in December last year.
Early this year, it placed its bet on Mumbai-based refurbished two-wheeler reseller CredR.
Its first investment was in Stellapps Technologies Pvt. Ltd, an Internet of Things (IoT) firm which operates in the dairy segment.
The venture debt fund's sweet spot for investment will be in the range of $1-2 million and, like most venture debt firms, it will be sector-agnostic, Gandhi had told VCCircle earlier.
Stride Ventures had said it plans to invest in 35-40 startups over the next three years.
Deals in B2B segment
Startups in several segments focused on the B2B segment have received considerable investor interest across all funding cycles, as they seek to offer efficiently-organised procurement and supply chain services to firms of all sizes at economical rates.
In September last year, B2B e-commerce platform Udaan raised around $300 million (about Rs 2,166 crore at current exchange rate) in its Series D funding round from a clutch of investors including Altimeter Capital and Footpath Ventures.
In July last year, industrial goods marketplace Moglix raised $60 million (around Rs 410 crore) in its Series D funding round from US-based Tiger Global Management and others.
Later in December, Infra.Market, a B2B marketplace for real estate and construction materials, raised $20 million in its Series A funding round led by US-based investment firm Tiger Global.
