BigBasket Secures $10 Million From Ascent Capital


Bangalore: Bangalore based online grocery store BigBasket.com has secured $10 million in funding from Ascent Capital. The funds would be used for expansion and the company plans to mark its presence in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Hyderabad by the end of the year. As part of the investment Raj Kondur, Director, Ascent Capital has joined the board of Directors.

The company was founded in 2011 by Vipul Parekh, Hari Menon, Abhinay Choudhari, and VS Sudhakar. The team had earlier founded FabMart.com and then established Fabmall-Trinethra (Aditya Birla Group bought Trinethra in 2006 and currently operates in the name ‘More). It sells over 6,000 products un various categories like Fruits & Vegetables, Grocery & staples, Bread Diary & Eggs, Beverages, Personal Care, Household, Confectionery, and Meat. It also offers cash on delivery option, along with online and phone base ordering options.

According to Kondur, he is delighted to work with BigBasket to establish a leading position in the grocery retail business in India which is a $160 billion opportunity. Having backed the same team in Fabmart.com, he has complete confidence in their ability to deliver an unparalleled retail option for the consumer’s grocery needs.

Ascent Capital has over $600 million under management across its three funds. The firm invests around $15-25 million in one or multiple investments and focuses primarily on growth stage companies and special situations where a public listing or other exit is likely in 2-4 years. Its areas of interests include sectors addressing domestic demand driven by a fast growing consumer market, service sectors that benefit from the country’s infrastructure boom, and sectors that leverage the country’s outsourcing strengths in services and manufacturing. Few of its portfolio investments include Laqshya, GMR Group, IVRCL Infrastructures & Projects, Subex Azure, South Indian Bank and SemanticSpace Technologies among others.