Gurgaon-based offline-to-online commerce platform, DotPe has secured $ 27.5 million in Series A funding. This fundraise makes it the first O2O company in the country to receive such a substantial amount within a year of its operational launch.
The round was led by its early investor PayU helping it report an increase in the existing stake in the company. Info Edge Ventures has multiplied its seed investment in the company by two times as compared to last year. Google joins as a new investor.
Started by ex-PayU Founder Shailaz Nag with Gyanesh Sharma and Anurag Gupta in 2020, DotPe isthe only Indian platform to have successfully digitized enterprise as well as SMB merchants through a full stack solution- from giving them an online presence to enabling seamless ordering (in-store and remote), online payments and delivery. On the enterprise side, it has deep integration with 10000+ restaurants and food courts, including leading global and domestic FnB brands.
Shailaz Nag, Cofounder, DotPe said, “We are thrilled to see our existing investors, PayU and Info Edge Ventures, backing our vision and doubling down on their funding as new business horizons open up. We are pleased to add Google, an innovation leader, as an investor. This new partnership will empower businesses (big or small) to be more discoverable, expand business avenues and conduct commerce like never before. Pandemic or not, we are here to reimagine the way offline businesses work and bring the digital revolution to the doorstep of every entrepreneur”.
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DotPe has made some key hires in the recent months. The fresh funding will be deployed towards accelerating product development, market expansion and scaling technology to meet the fast-growing market demand.
Anirban Mukherjee, CEO, PayU India, said, “In a very short time, DotPe has acquired a promising merchant base with its impeccable product experience and innovation. We have always believed in fostering innovation by working with such disruptive, early-stage start-ups. Under Shailaz’s leadership, we believe DotPe is positioned for rapid expansion as it disrupts and transforms the offline to online segment. They also align seamlessly with PayU’s vision of digitising payments in India by enabling merchants of all sizes. We are excited to build on our initial investment and continue to support the company on its journey.”
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Kitty Agarwal, Partner, Info Edge Ventures said “DotPe has seen rapid adoption by merchants across industries- enterprises and SMBs- within a year of launch. The product experience and merchant and consumer stickiness is best-in-class with many marquee brands now expanding use cases with them and integrating even more deeply. Our significant follow-on investment attests to our belief in the team and the ecosystem play panning out. We see DotPe as an integrated commerce and fintech platform that empowers merchants and enables them to control their digital presence, discoverability, commerce, payments etc. to complete their offline-to-online journey and are excited about the possibilities ahead.
Sanjay Gupta, VP & Country Head, Google India said, “In the last few months we’ve seen an acceleration in offline players seeking to move their businesses online. We’re pleased to back young companies like DotPe that are supporting India’s digital transformation by connecting consumers and merchants through helpful, innovative tools. This investment under Google for India digitization fund underlines our belief in working with India’s start-up ecosystem towards the goal of building a more inclusive digital economy that will benefit everyone.”
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