UpScalio, a venture that funds and manages e-commerce brands, on Tuesday said it has secured pre-Series B funding of $15 million (around 114 crore) led by Gulf Islamic Investments (GII), with participation from Northern Arc and Unity bank.
This round of funding follows UpScalio’s $42.5 million round led by Presight Capital in August last year.
UpScalio's current annualised GMV (gross merchandise value) run rate from its existing brands' portfolio is over Rs. 300 crore, with the bulk of these 13 brands experiencing substantial year-on-year growth.
The thrasio-style platform has also been successful in assembling a team of over 120 from various functions who have scaled successful e-commerce businesses in India.
“GII team’s global experience in ‘buy and build’ across industries will be immensely helpful as we aggregate and scale ecommerce brands.
We will utilize this fundraise to partner with more brands, to invest in hiring across key growth functions, and to build out other technology and growth capabilities.”, said Gautam Kshatriya, Co-Founder and CEO of UpScalio.
Upscalio was founded by Gautam Kshatriya, a former consultant with McKinsey & Company; Saaim Khan, a former Consultant at Bain & Company and former Marketing and Growth Executive at Purplle, Nitin Agarwal.
The venture provides funds to digital brands selling on ecommerce marketplaces like Amazon, Myntra, Flipkart and Nykaa.
It manages its key operations, including multi-marketplace management, digital marketing, branding, logistics, sourcing, finance, and business operations.
UpScalio acquires stakes in high growth ecommerce brands that sell on Amazon, Flipkart, other marketplaces, and their websites, and then works closely with founders to scale these brands 5-10 folds over a 2-3 year period.
Till date, UpScalio has invested in 13 companies in utility sectors such as home and kitchen, furniture, auto accessories, and lawn and gardening over the last nine months.
In January, UpScalio invested an undisclosed sum in NCR-based home and gardening brand Truphe. In December last year, UpScalio invested an undisclosed sum in four auto accessories brands - Autofurnish, Destorm, Urban Lifestylers, and MotoTrance. It previously invested in Green Soul Ergonomics Polestar,Trase, and Hestia.
“UpScalio’s core focus on operating brands in all-weather utility categories is differentiated from similar modelled businesses in India and globally. We have been thoroughly impressed with the UpScalio team’s ability to integrate companies and create value across digital marketing, product development, pricing, supply chain and deep analytics,” Pankaj Gupta and Mohammed Alhassan, Co-founders and Co-CEOs of Gulf Islamic Investments said in a joint statement.
GII, which has a $3 billion AUM (assets under management) and invests in private equity and real estate around the world, is looking to expand its portfolio in India.
UpScalio is GII's sixth investment in its second Indian Growth Portfolio, it has invested in Bombay Shaving Club, 1-India Family Mart, Soothe Healthcare among others.