Info Edge (India) Ltd., which owns and operates portals such as job site Naukri.com, has led a pre-Series A funding round in digital logistics platform Shipsy.
Gurugram-based Shipsy said in a statement it will use the funds for its sales and marketing efforts. It will also use the money for broadening the product offerings under its exporter-importer platform, and prepare itself for a larger Series A round next year that will see it expanding beyond the Indian market.
Shipsy, which is operated by Llama Logisol Pvt. Ltd, did not disclose the amount of funds it raised or the identity of the other investors taking part in the round.
Shipsy co-founder and chief executive officer Soham Chokshi said the company had developed its product along with some of the biggest brands in the shipping industry. “Supply chain is an area where enterprises can save high costs to improve their bottom line,” Chokshi said.
Kitty Agarwal, who heads of the venture capital arm of Info Edge, said the company was confident in its investment because of the domain expertise of Shipsy’s founding team as well as its focussed approach.
“We believe that an ecosystem play would not only help streamline the operations but also help optimize and centralize the cash flow movement,” said Agarwal.
Shipsy was founded in 2015 by Chokshi and Dhruv Agarwal, who previously worked at Deutsche Bank. It initially focussed on the courier and less-than-truckload segment, before expanding to the broader logistics sector.
The company says its Exim platform is designed to empower exporters and importers to digitise their operations as well as save time and cost. The platform has more than 120 shippers on board, including large exporters in the petrochemicals, iron and steel, textile and agro-commodities industries.
Info Edge’s bets
Info Edge operates a slew of properties, including real estate portal 99acres.com, matrimonial website Jeevansathi and education services portal Shiksha. Besides, it holds stakes in several technology firms such as restaurant search platform Zomato, ed-tech startup NoPaperForms, online insurance aggregator PolicyBazaar and e-learning firm Meritnation.
Earlier this month, it invested more capital in test-prep platform Adda247. Gurugram-based Info Edge said it had invested another Rs 21 crore in Adda247, taking its stake in the company to 17%.
It also holds a stake in insurance aggregator PolicyBazaar. Earlier this week, Chinese conglomerate Tencent Holdings Ltd picked up a stake in the startup by purchasing part of the United States-based Tiger Global Management’s share.
Info Edge made at least three bets last month through investments in Happily Unmarried Marketing Pvt. Ltd, Greytip Software Pvt. Ltd and one more in Adda247.