Indian logistics startup bags $75m to keep on truckin’

Photo credit: Aleksandr Zykov.

Let’s face it – in terms of hot and sexy tech developments and industries, the logistics sector is kind of the Velma in the Scooby Doo gang. It’s not as attractive or fun, but it fills a need and is usually instrumental in solving problems. So a decades-old American private equity firm dropping three-quarters of a million dollars into a logistics startup is nothing to sneeze at.

Today, India’s Rivigo announced it has landed US$75 million in series C funding led by an affiliate of Warburg Pincus. In return, Warburg Pincus will receive a minority stake in the logistics company.

Gurgaon-headquartered Rivigo will put the investment toward scaling up its service offerings across India, technology, and talent.

Warburg Pincus is a global private equity firm headquartered in New York, with offices across the globe.

See: How a startup cracked the formula to bring Uber-like efficiency to India’s trucks

Keep on truckin’

Founded in 2014 by former McKinsey & Co. consultants Deepak Garg (an IIT-Kanpurand IIM-Lucknow alum) and Gazal Kalra (Stanford and Harvard grad), Rivigo uses data, technology, and Internet of Things (IoT) to solve challenges in delivery logistics. Its services include temperature-controlled (“cold-chain”) supply systems, as well as full truckload and part truckload shipping. It claims to operate over 2,000 trucks, with the startup’s India network covering 150 locations.

Rivigo’s previous investors include SAIF Partners (US$30 million last year) and Singapore Post, which deals in logistics, mail, and other delivery solutions. Rivigo spans industries, including ecommerce, auto components, pharmaceuticals, and machinery.

With India’s ecommerce boom comes a giant need for logistics – a chasm measurable in the hundred billions. In August, Warburg Pincus poured US$125 million into India’s Stellar Value Chain, and invested US$133 million in Ecom Express last year.