Beverage chain Chaayos, operated by Sunshine Teahouse Pvt. Ltd on Thursday said it has raised $53 million (Rs 414 crore) in a Series C funding round led by Alpha Wave Ventures.
Chaayos, in a statement, said that it will use the fresh capital for store expansion. The Delhi-based company - currently running 190 stores across 6 cities - aims to add another 100 stores by the end of this year.
The Series C round is said to have valued the company at $225-250 million, people close to the development told VCCircle earlier this month.
Filings at the Registrar of Companies (RoC) earlier showed that the Tiger Global-backed tea-focused startup has pulled in $45 million from a mix of new and existing investors.
Existing investors Elevation Capital, Tiger Global and Think Investments participated in the funding round, said Chaayos in a statement.
Part of the funds will also be used to strengthen its technology for hiring.
"The latest capital raise will help us deepen our technology investments to further enhance our guest experience and build a brand that is an integral part of Indian society over decades to come," said Nitin Saluja, founder and chief executive officer, Chaayos, in the statement.
"We are also continuously on the lookout to hire talent to handle the scale that we aspire for," he added.
The statement also said that its online deliveries currently contribute 45% to its revenue.
Founded in November 2012 by IIT Bombay alumnus Saluja and IIT Delhi graduate Raghav Verma, Chaayos raised Rs 81 crore in a Series B round from SAIF Partners (now Elevation Capital), Hong Kong-based Integrated Capital and growth-stage Pactolus in September 2018. A year before that, it had raised around $2 million from Tiger Global Management.
US-based Tiger Global had also led a $5 million Series A round in 2015, with participation from Ola co-founders Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati. The company has also secured funding through venture debt route from Alteria Capital and InnoVen Capital.
Some of the firms Chaayos competes with include Bengaluru-based Mountain Trail Foods Pvt. Ltd, which operates the Chai Point network of tea stores. Chai Point has raised funding from Eight Roads, Paragon, Saama and DSG Consumer.
