Pouring Pounds India Pvt Ltd, which operates cashback and coupons platform CashKaro, has raised $10 million (Rs 73.4 crore) in a Series B funding round.
The round in New Delhi-based CashKaro has been led by Korea Investment Partners (KIP), a venture capital firm with over $3 billion in assets under management, the company said in a statement.
Existing investor Kalaari Capital also participated in this round. The company also counts Ratan Tata among its investors, with the Tata Sons chairman emeritus having invested an undisclosed sum in January 2016.
CashKaro was founded by Swati Bhargava and Rohan Bhargava, both graduates of the London School of Economics, in February 2011.
Its parent, Pouring Pounds, is a subsidiary of the United Kingdom-based Pouring Pounds Ltd. The company’s platform focusses on providing users with collated and curated cashback and coupon offers.
Last year, the firm also launched a social commerce platform, EarnKaro, which allows users and influencers to monetise product recommendations to their networks. The company will use the capital it has raised to expand both segments as well as acquire talent.
“Our business has emerged strong amidst the global turmoil caused by Covid-19 and this fundraise is a testament to the potential that performance marketing holds in India,” Swati Bhargava said.
KIP managing partner Hudson Kyung-sik Ho called India a growing market for the firm and that the investment was part of its strategy to participate in the domestic e-commerce segment. “CashKaro and EarnKaro together have shown exceptional unit metrics,” he added.
In November 2015, CashKaro raised $4 million (around Rs 25 crore) in Series A funding from Kalaari Capital and existing investors. According to VCCEdge, the data research arm of Mosaic Digital, Pouring Pounds India reported net sales of Rs 37.74 crore for the 2018-19 financial year.
The company’s focus on social commerce through EarnKaro is also indicative of the large investments taking place in the space.
Last month, video and commerce platform Trell raised $11.4 million (Rs 85 crore) in a Series A funding round led by KTB Network, a South Korea-based financial services group. Samsung Ventures, Sequoia accelerator programme Surge, Fosun RZ Capital, and WEH Ventures also took part in the round.
In November last year, Chiratae Ventures and SAIF Partners led a Rs 64 crore (around $8.9 million) Series B round in WMall, which also counts Venture Highway among its investors.
Also that month, Accel India and China-based Shunwei Capital jointly led a Rs 43.49 crore (around $6 million) Series A round in SimSim.
