SoftBank to invest $450 million in Indian startup Swiggy

In recent years, India , a country of 1.3 billion people, has seen rapid adoption of smartphones, an explosion in cheap internet services and the rise of a new generation of ambitious entrepreneurs .

Global investors such as SoftBank, Tiger Global Management and South Africa's Naspers Ltd. have seen growing opportunities in India's startup sector. In India , the world's fastest-growing Internet market , investment funds from around the world are pouring in.

Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. will invest $450 million in Indian food delivery startup Swiggy, a deal that could value Swiggy at more than $5 billion, according to the Japan Times .

The funding comes from Masayoshi Son’s Vision Fund 2, the people said , asking not to be named because the information is private. Swiggy and SoftBank declined to comment.

This is actually the second investment the company has received recently . Just about a week ago, Swiggy just completed a round of financing of US$800 million from investors including Falcon Edge Capital LP and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Last week was also a historic one for India’s tech sector, with investors creating at least six new unicorns, or startups valued at $1 billion or more, in just four days.

Bengaluru-based Swiggy competes with several food delivery startups , including Zomato, a unicorn backed by Ant Group Co. and Tiger Global, and the food delivery arm of Amazon.com Inc’s India unit.

Swiggy's co-founder and CEO Sriharsha Majety said in a memo that Swiggy's long-term goal is to serve 500 million users in the next 10 to 15 years .

He said: “We went through a very difficult phase last year due to Covid-19 and have weathered the storm. But from now on, everything we do needs to maximise our chances of success in the future .”

Analysts at Bernstein expect India’s food delivery market to surge to $12 billion by 2022.

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