Kirana-tech startup Khatabook, which counts Sequoia Capital, Tencent, and Alkeon Capital among its backers, will be discontinuing MyStore, its e-commerce enablement product in a bid to consolidate its product portfolio, the company said in a blog post.
“Thank you for being a part of the MyStore journey. We are planning on discontinuing the MyStore App. Your MyStore App won’t work from 15 November2021. This is a company decision related to product portfolio consolidation,” the blog post read. The company has also advised users to download invoice by sharing order invoices before eventually uninstalling the app.
Khatabook’s spokesperson further told VCCircle that the startup has made strategic decisions like acquiring Biz Analyst and building financial service disbursement capabilities on its platform in the past few months.
"With these new strategic developments in place, we are consolidating our product offering portfolio, and this decision (to shut MyStore) is part of our strategic growth plan,” the spokesperson added.
News website Entrackr first reported this development.
With regard to MyStore, the company was reportedly involved in a legal battle with rival Dukaan over plagiarism and infringement of copyright since August last year. The issue primarily revolved around the use of the word “Dukaan” by Khatabook for its online application, Entrackr had reported.
However, Khatabook changed the name of the application to MyStore by Khatabook and the two companies resolved issues in an out-of-the-court settlement in November last year.
Khatabook’s exit from the e-commerce enablement sector comes at a time when many e-commerce enablement companies in India have raised funds and are looking to expand.
WhatsApp integrated merchant e-commerce platform Bikayi in September had raised $10.8 million in a Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital India. OkCredit had launched an online storefront for kiranas in November last year. Online retail platform, Dukaan, too, had raised $11 million as a part of its Pre-Series A round of funding, led by 640 Oxford Ventures, to fund its expansion plans in September.
DotPe, which helps businesses with online operations, had raised $27.5 million (around Rs 199.6 crore) in a Series A round in March.
Meanwhile, on the bookkeeping solutions side, CashBook, a fintech startup focused on cash accounting for small businesses and a direct competitor to Khatabook, had raised $2.3 million (Rs 17 crore) in a seed funding round led by JAM and Better Tomorrow Ventures.
Khatabook, too, in August, had raised $100 million (Rs 740 crore) as part of its Series C funding round led by US-based venture capital firms Tribe Capital and Moore Strategic Ventures. Alkeon Capital and existing investors B Capital Group, Sequoia Capital, Tencent, RTP Ventures, Unilever Ventures, and Better Capital had also participated in the funding round.
Note: The article has been updated to reflect comments from a Khatabook spokesperson.
