Google to join Flipkart’s Walmart-led fundraising efforts

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Google is set to join the Indian ecommerce firm Flipkart‘s ongoing fundraising efforts, which is currently led by US giant Walmart. The deal is still subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.

According to a statement, Google’s potential investment and its cloud collaborations with Flipkart would help the latter boost its digital infrastructure capabilities.

However, the amount Google will be investing was undisclosed. Tech in Asia has reached out to Flipkart, but the company has yet to respond.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Google looking to set aside US$350 million to purchase a minority share in Flipkart, valuing the latter at US$37 billion, citing a source close to the matter.

This is slightly below the US$37.6 billion valuation Flipkart commanded in July 2021, when the company raised US$3.6 billion from investors like GIC, SoftBank, and Tencent.

In December last year, it was reported that Walmart would pour US$600 million into Flipkart, which would be part of a potential US$1 billion round.

Earlier this month, Walmart execs said that they were “looking and exploring” a potential timeline for a Flipkart IPO.

One of Flipkart’s main competitors in India’s ecommerce space is Meesho. The company has been gaining ground in India’s tough ecommerce market, having been the top ecommerce app in terms of downloads in the second quarter of 2023. However, it still lagged behind Flipkart and Amazon – which ranked in second and third, respectively, in downloads for that quarter – in terms of monthly active users.

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