Gurgaon-based hyperlocal discovery and rewards platform Magicpin, which is operated by Samast Technology Pvt. Ltd, has raised $7 million (around Rs 45 crore) in a Series B round of funding from Lightspeed India Partners, WaterBridge Ventures and others.
Bain & Co India chairman Srivatsan Rajan and Delhivery co-founder and CEO Sahil Barua also participated in the latest funding round, the startup said in a statement.
The firm will use the funds to enhance products, strengthen the leadership team and expand across categories and geographies, it said.
VCCircle first reported the fundraising last week.
Magicpin was founded in August 2015 by Anshoo Sharma, former venture partner at Lightspeed, and Brij Bhushan, former vice president at Nexus Venture Partners. It was incubated by Lightspeed. Both Sharma and Bhushan, who are alumni of IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore, respectively, have previously worked with US-based software firm Aricent and consulting firm Bain & Co.
The startup calls itself a social network for local experiences. It enables users to discover restaurants, events, nightlife and fashion, among others, and helps them interact with merchants. The platform also provides real-time promotions, loyalty programmes and content updates. Users can upload their bills on the app and avail of cashback offers. The app also makes personalised recommendations to users based on their consumption pattern.
Magicpin is currently live in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru. The startup claims to have more than a million users who have shared more than five million experiences.
“The vast majority of commerce is and will continue to be transacted offline. Magicpin’s metrics reflect success in capturing smartphone-wielding users and directing their offline spend to participating merchants while creating compelling ‘hooks’ that cause users to engage and transact through the app,†said Bejul Somaia, managing director, Lightspeed India Partners.
Recently Lightspeed, along with Blume Ventures and CyberAgent Ventures, invested Rs 30 crore in home rental startup FastFox in a Series A funding round. Prior to that, it led a $2.5 million funding round in Gurgaon-based micro-lending startup RedCarpetTech Pvt. Ltd. Besides, the venture capital firm has invested in ed-tech startup Byju’s, budget accommodation aggregator OYO Rooms, social networking app ShareChat as well as e-commerce firms Craftsvilla and Limeroad, among others.
In December 2016, WaterBridge, along with Calcutta Angels Network and LetsVenture, among others, made a Rs 3.4 crore
angel investment in healthcare-focused fin-tech startup LetsMD.
In the space, loyalty rewards app mPaani Solutions Pvt. Ltd recently raised $1.35 million in a pre-Series A investment round led by IDG Ventures, Blume Ventures and Saha Fund in March.
Another startup in the rewards space is Crownit, which is run by GoldVIP Technology Solutions Pvt. Ltd. GoldVIP is backed by Accel Partners and Helion Venture Partners. Other firms in the space include Nearbuy, Mydala and CashKaro.
