1K Kirana raises $25 million from Alpha Wave and others


1K Kirana raises $25 million from Alpha Wave and others
Technology start-up 1K Kirana has raised $25 million in its Series B round led by Alpha Wave Ventures, the company said on Monday. Info Edge Ventures, Kae Capital, prominent entrepreneurs like the founders of Zetwerk and GoMechanic have also invested in the funding round. 
Founded in late 2018 by Kumar Sangeetesh, Sachin Sharma and Abhishek Halder, 1K provides technology platform to grocery stores in India's smaller cities and towns. 
"Sangeetesh, Abhishek and Sachin have built a business that combines strong growth with attractive unit economics. We are excited to partner with them as they bring a modern retail experience to underserved consumers in India's over $600 billion grocery market," Alhpa Wave founder and partner Navroz D Udwadia said in a statement. 
1KKirana aims to serve more than 10 million consumers across 100 districts through 5,000 franchise stores over the next 12 months. 
"The 1K team with their unique model have been able to leverage the Kirana network, the oldest form of social commerce, to build a robust consumer centric business. Within a span of two years, they have emerged as the leader in the B2B2C grocery e-commerce with a very strong unit economics. We continue to believe in the vision of 1K to bring consumer aspirations closer to them in the smaller cities of Bharat," Kae Capital, partner, Gaurav Chaturvedi said.