Sunshine Teahouse Pvt. Ltd, which runs tea cafe chain Chaayos, has raised $2 million (Rs 13 crore) from existing investor Tiger Global Management, a financial daily reported citing two people aware of the development.
“The funds were raised through a rights issue, which was closed a few weeks ago. Tiger Global invested close to $2 million in the company... A few individuals also participated,†one of the persons mentioned above told Mint.
Chaayos will use the funds to expand operations, the report added.
Chaayos co-founder Nitin Saluja and Tiger Global did not respond to e-mail queries from VCCircle seeking comment.
In 2015, Chaayos had raised $5 million in its Series A round led by Tiger Global. Ola co-founders Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati also participated in the round. Powai Lake Ventures and Toppr.com founder Zishaan Hayath are also investors in the firm.
Founded in November 2012 by IIT Bombay alumnus Saluja and IIT Delhi graduate Raghav Verma, the tea chain is present in Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Ghaziabad, and Karnal. According to the startup's website, it has over 30 outlets in these cities.
Chaayos competes with Chai Point, which is run by Mountain Trail Foods Pvt. Ltd. In August, Chai Point raised $2.9 million from some existing investors. Chai Point is backed by Eight Roads Ventures, DSG Partners and Saama Capital.
Other players in the space that have recently raised funds include Delhi-based specialty coffee e-tailer Blue Tokai, which raised a bridge round in July from existing investor Snow Leopard Technology Ventures.
In January, Delhi-based Vahdam Teas raised Rs 4.4 crore from Kanwaljit Singh, founder of investment firm Fireside Ventures, Mumbai Angels, and Singapore Angel Network.
In November 2016, Chai Thela raised Rs 1.5 crore in seed funding from early-stage investment firm Quarizon.