Zomato raises Rs 284 cr from Uber, Airbnb investor Glade Brook Capital

Online restaurant guide and food ordering startup Zomato has raised Rs 284 crore from US-based investor Glade Brook Capital Partners which counts companies such as Uber, Airbnb and Snapchat among its portfolio firms. The financing is part of Zomato’s Series I funding round that started in November 2018 when Alibaba-backed Ant Financial invested Rs 1,539 crore in the New-Delhi based firm. Zomato allotted 13,000 ‘compulsorily convertible cumulative preference shares’ for Rs 2,18,790 per share to Glade Brook to raise the funding, according to regulatory documents filed by Zomato, which were sourced from business signals platform paper.vc.
 
The funding would help Zomato compete with rivals such as Swiggy, Uber Eats and Ola-owned Foodpanda, which are also betting big on the online food ordering and delivery market in the country.

 
The online food ordering and delivery market is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of more than 45% to reach $11 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) by 2023, according to RedSeer Consulting, a research and advisory firm.
 
Founded by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah in 2008, Zomato said it provides in-depth information for over 1.4 million restaurants across 24 countries and serves more than 50 million users every month. It has raised a total of $653.8 million in 11 rounds, according to Crunchbase. The firm is investing a lot of capital on technologies like artificial intelligence and data science as well as acquiring innovative startups to have an edge over its competitors. Last December, the company acquired drone start-up TechEagle Innovations, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition would help it carve a path toward drone-based food delivery in India, creating a hub-to-hub delivery network powered by hybrid multi-rotor drones.