“They have seen a lot of interest from global investors as well, who typically don’t come in at an early stage. The interest in these verticals is rising due to the overall pace of growth in quick commerce in India, in contrast to global markets,” said one of the people mentioned above.
Former executives of delivery service Dunzo are seeking capital for at least two new ventures allied to quick commerce.
Fast delivery in fashion
One of the proposals is focused on the supply side of dark stores and delivery networks for brands, with ‘Kuik’ as a working title, people aware of the developments told ET. Kuik has been set up by Dunzo cofounder Ankur Agarwal and senior executive Vijay Verma.
Discover the stories of your interest
ET has reviewed its business proposal to investors, which outlays a plan to set up three shared dark stores for brands in busy areas of Bengaluru, to begin with. The firm has started operating in stealth, and is close to raising $3-4 million, including from some of the early investors in Dunzo, another person said.Agarwal did not immediately respond to queries on the matter.
At least three venture capital partners said they have reviewed these proposals in recent weeks.
Swish cofounder Aniket Shah declined to comment, while emails sent to investors did not elicit any response.
In the fashion segment, senior executives who recently exited Flipkart and Amazon are in discussions with early-stage funds to launch quick commerce businesses. Market leader Myntra has only just entered the space.
“Former Flipkart Group executives have pitched an idea to investors like Accel and others on how a certain kind of fast fashion item is poised for growth under the fast delivery model—30 minutes in this case,” said an executive aware of the matter. “A couple of recent vice-president level exits from Flipkart, as well as Amazon’s category managers, are in discussions with investors.”
Need for cash
Swish, which started operations in select pincodes in one area of Bengaluru, has expanded operations into four areas, with plans to add more. The expansion into other metros will hinge on ongoing funding talks.
In December, FirstClub — set up by former chief executive of Flipkart-owned Cleartrip Ayyappan R — secured $8 million in seed funding from Accel for a premium products quick delivery model. His venture will also include offline stores.
Industry executives are of the view that while food and fashion are the big interest areas, pharmacy will soon emerge as a major quick commerce vertical.
The rise of these enabler firms also underscores the seismic shift underway in the Indian online shopping universe—like what happened over a decade ago with the rise of ecommerce.
The recent ETtech State of Startups poll also showed how quick commerce and ancillaries will remain a key theme of investment in 2025.
ETtechConditions apply
Raising new cash for a quick commerce venture is not easy as mega funding across platforms such as Swiggy Instamart, Zepto and Zomato’s Blinkit make investors question the sustainability of these models and if the newbies can stand up to these larger incumbents.
“Quick commerce platforms will also get to a point where brands see the visibility issue, like they are facing on Flipkart and Amazon. Having said that, investors also don’t want to rush into deals, given the cash-guzzling nature of fast-delivery models,” said an entrepreneur, who recently closed funding in a quick commerce firm.
Meanwhile, incumbents have also jumped into specialisations, such as Zepto’s separate app for its ‘cafe’ business. It has been launching over 100 cafes every month. Blinkit has also launched a separate app named Bistro for 10-minute food delivery, while Swiggy’s Bolt has been expanded to 400 cities.
A Morgan Stanley report from November estimated the quick commerce market at anywhere between $25 billion and $55 billion by 2030, depending on favourability. It is estimated at around $7 billion at the end of 2024.
