Offline-to-online merchant platform 'DotPe' secures $27.5 million series A funding from PayU, Info Edge Ventures and Google

GURUGRAM, India, March 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Gurgaon-based offline-to-online commerce platform, DotPe, announced today that it has secured USD 27.5 million in Series A funding, making it the first O2O company in India to receive such a substantial amount within a year of launch. The round was led by its early investor, PayU, the payments and fintech business of Prosus, resulting in an increase in the existing stake in the company. Info Edge Ventures has doubled down on its seed investment in the company made last year and more than doubled its shareholding. Google joins as a new investor.

Started by ex-PayU Founder Shailaz Nag with Gyanesh Sharma and Anurag Gupta in 2020, DotPe stands notably as the 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 10,000+ restaurants and food courts, including leading global and domestic FnB brands.

On the SMB front, it's product Digital Showroom has on-boarded over 5 million merchants within 6 months of launch in September 2020 with best-in-class retention and engagement. The product enables merchants to sell online by creating a digital storefront and accepting orders through WhatsApp.

In the last 12 months, over 5 million Indian consumers have switched to the hassle-free way of ordering and buying from DotPe's merchants using its platform. Over 38% of orders daily are now through repeat consumers.

Commenting on the fresh round of investment and DotPe's growth trajectory, 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."

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."

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."

About DotPe 

DotPe is the only Indian platform to have successfully penetrated the entire landscape of offline-to-online commerce- from merchants in rural pockets of India to FnB mega players. Headquartered in Gurgaon, DotPe was founded in March 2020 by Ex-Pay-U founder and team members, Shailaz Nag, Gyanesh Sharma, and Anurag Gupta. The company digitally powers the entire customer journey- ordering, payments, and delivery solutions for 10,000+ restaurants and food courts. For small and medium-sized businesses, the company has an app called Digital Showroom that helps businesses open a digital store front in under 15 seconds. The app offers a complete suite of business solutions to manage the entire customer journey. It recently raised $27.5 million from investors like Pay-U, Google, and Info Edge Ventures, bringing their total funding to $35.5 million.

About PayU (a Prosus group company)

PayU is the payments and fintech business of Prosus, a global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world. Operating and investing globally in markets with long-term growth potential, Prosus builds leading consumer internet companies that empower people and enrich communities.

Prosus has a primary listing on Euronext Amsterdam (AEX: PRX) and a secondary listing on the JSE Limited (XJSE: PRX), and is majority owned by Naspers. For more information on Prosus and its companies and investments, please visit www.prosus.com

About Info Edge Ventures

Info Edge Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund backed by Info Edge and Temasek. The firm invests as the first or second institutional cheque in Seed to Series A technology companies across consumer, enterprise, healthcare, and fintech, with significant capital reserved for follow-ons. They are long-term patient capital with holding period of more than a decade. The team has previously deployed over $300mn across 25+ early stage startups, where they are first investors and continuing large shareholders of market leading companies like Zomato and Policybazaar. The new fund has invested in nine startups in social commerce, digital media, fintech, edtech, healthtech, gaming and SaaS.

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