Quick-commerce grows beyond grocery; Tribe Capital’s latest India bet

6 months ago 55

Happy Friday! Quick-commerce platforms like Zepto, Swiggy’s Instamart, and Zomato-owned Blinkit are seeing a surge in sales for non-grocery items as they take on ecommerce rivals. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.

Also in the letter:
■ Apple users hit by spyware attack
■ VC Lumikai eyes 10-12 deals
■ Explainer: Google's Axion data centre processors

Non-grocery products deliver sales growth for quick-commerce

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Quick-commerce platforms like Zepto, Swiggy’s Instamart and Blinkit are seeing rapid growth in the sale of non-grocery items as they continue to diversify their offerings and enter the ecommerce turf.

Driving the news: Zepto’s non-grocery sales growth more than doubled month-on-month for segments like toys and electronics accessories, while beauty product sales are up threefold. Nearly 15% of the company’s $1.2-billion annualised gross sales now comes from these products. Swiggy’s Instamart said it registered “a robust month-on-month growth… with March touching its highest-ever sales for non-grocery categories.

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Zoom in: Industry executives say sales for the beauty and personal care (BPC) segment are likely up over 20%, while earphones and accessories, as well as health and nutrition are clocking double-digit growth on a quarterly basis. Experiments with products like Playstation gaming consoles and new-age fan brand Atomberg also continue as SKUs expand. Swiggy ramped up its product selection and assortment almost fourfold over the past year, particularly in non-grocery.

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Read our extensive coverage on the rise of quick-commerce:

Exclusive: EV SaaS startup Zypp eyes $40 million at $300-350 million valuation

EV_Funding_L-R Zypp Electric cofounders Tushar Mehta, Akash Gupta and Rashi Agarwal_THUMB_ETTECH_

(L-R) Zypp Electric cofounders Tushar Mehta, Akash Gupta and Rashi Agarwal

EV fleet operator Zypp Electric is in discussions to raise fresh capital from Silicon Valley-based investment firm Tribe Capital, in a round that could see the Gurugram-based startup’s valuation almost double from its last fundraise.

Deal details: Zypp Electric is expected to raise around $40 million in a round led by Tribe Capital, two people briefed on the developments told us. The equity infusion could value the startup at $300-350 million.

Go deeper: The company – which works with delivery platforms including Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, Blinkit, Swiggy, Zepto, in addition to bike-taxi operators such as Uber and Rapido – has seen its revenue grow nearly three times in FY24 to Rs 325 crore.

Launched in 2017, Zypp Electric currently has over 20,000 electric scooters in its fleet deployed across four markets – Delhi-National Capital Region, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. It aims to expand its service to two more cities this year.

Tribe Capital on India: Tribe Capital, a major investor in ecommerce enablement unicorn Shiprocket, is set to introduce its $250-million India fund. It will be set up as an alternative investment fund (AIF) domiciled in New Delhi.

ET first reported about Tribe Capital’s plans to set up an India-dedicated fund in May 2023. While the India fund is expected to be sector agnostic, it will pick stakes in companies involved in the consumer internet, enterprise software, logistics and fintech sectors, people aware of the matter said.

Also read | Zypp Electric to deploy two lakh vehicles in its fleet, invest $300 million for expansion

VC Lumikai eyes 10-12 deals via India Fund-II

Lumikai.

Salone Sehgal, founding general partner, Lumikai

Gaming and interactive media venture capital firm Lumikai is aiming to close 10-12 investments in pre-seed and Series A firms over the next few years from its $50-million India fund II, founding general partner Salone Sehgal told ET.

Tell me more: There’s interest in India’s game developer talent with abundant capital flowing into the gaming industry from newer corners, such as SBI Mutual Fund, the Kamath brothers, Japanese entertainment firm MIXI Inc., Sony Interactive Entertainment, as well as Kratos Studios.

Giving RMG a miss: Sehgal said real money gaming (RMG) is only a $2-billion subsector among new media which has already peaked in India, adding that it’s not suitable for Lumikai. The firm has already cut its growth forecast for the RMG segment to 5% over the next five years, down from 25% previously.

Also read | Nazara Technologies sets aside $100 million for acquisitions

Apple warns users in India, 91 other countries of spyware attack

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Apple users in India and 91 other countries are likely to have been impacted by a “mercenary spyware” attack attempt, the company said in a threat notification mail on Thursday. Someone tried to gain unlawful access to their Apple devices — iPhones and iPads. ET first wrote about it yesterday.

Safety compromised: Mercenary spyware attacks, such as those using Pegasus from the NSO Group, are exceptionally rare and vastly more sophisticated than regular cybercriminal activity or consumer malware, the mail sent by Apple read.

Exposing vulnerabilities: Apple also said it detected users were “being targeted by a mercenary spyware attack trying to remotely compromise the iPhone” which is associated with a particular Apple ID.

Late on Wednesday India time, Apple also updated its support page to include tips for users who had been possible targets of the mercenary spyware attack.

Also read | ETtech Explainer: why Apple sent emails about ‘state-sponsored attacks’ to opposition leaders