JSW One Platforms Raises Fresh Capital of ₹340 Cr, Enters Unicorn Club

JSW One Platforms Ltd., India’s leading tech-led B2B e-commerce platform, has raised ₹340 Cr of fresh capital, led by Principal Asset Management, OneUp, JSW Steel, and other investors. This round brings the company’s valuation to $1 billion, earning it a coveted unicorn status.

This milestone marks a valuation jump of over 3x from its earlier round of funding in April 2023, a testament to the platform’s strong product-market fit, resilient supply chain, and rapid business execution in just four years.

The capital raised will strengthen national supply chain leadership in steel and cement categories, deepen distribution and logistics networks across India, scale the fintech and NBFC arms, and enable wider access to credit for MSMEs. This will be enabled by building a robust tech stack that creates a truly integrated and digital procurement journey for small businesses.

By offering an end-to-end ecosystem, including commerce, credit, and fulfilment, JSW One aims to simplify sourcing and accelerate growth for over 500,000 building and manufacturing MSMEs across the country.

Parth Jindal, Chairman, JSW One Platforms, said, "JSW One Platforms is more than a marketplace, it’s how India's MSMEs procure, finance, and grow. We're solving critical pain points by combining our tech-led distribution model with JSW Group's strength in manufacturing. We are well-positioned to fulfil the ambitions of India's expanding MSME sector."

Gaurav Sachdeva, Joint Managing Director & CEO, JSW One Platforms, added, "JSW One’s goal is to enable reliable procurement for MSMEs through quality materials, timely delivery, and the right credit solutions. This capital allows us to expand our service network, scale our private brands and NBFC arm, and invest further in tech and logistics. We’re building a supply chain that will continue to add efficiency for MSMEs across India."

In April 2023, JSW One raised ₹205 Cr in funding from Japan’s Mitsui & Co., which helped scale its credit and logistics capabilities and expand into new markets.

Moglix Introduces Biofuels as New Category on Its B2B E-Commerce Platform

Moglix, one of Asia’s leading B2B e-commerce companies, is introducing biofuels as a new category to accelerate India’s clean energy goals. The fragmented and decentralized market for solid biofuels—including briquettes, pellets, biochar, and bio-coal—has posed challenges for industries in terms of availability, quality, and supply chain efficiency. Moglix aims to address these gaps by creating a structured, full-stack solution that ensures consistent fuel quality, reliable procurement, and seamless access for enterprises while empowering rural communities and driving industrial adoption of cleaner fuels.

Moglix will utilize their platform to simplify biofuel procurement across India. It will provide industries with access to a variety of biomass briquettes and pellets with year-round availability, on-time delivery, and consistent quality—solving a major pain point for enterprises. The focus is on ensuring high-quality fuel from best-in-class manufacturing facilities governed by proprietary SOPs, enabling seamless procurement through an integrated logistics platform with full tracking and transparency, securing long-term rate contracts to ensure uninterrupted supply. And strengthening the biomass sourcing ecosystem by engaging directly with farmers to enhance rural incomes through structured trade of agro-waste.

Biofuels, derived from biomass, offer a viable alternative to fossil fuels. While the government has outlined a clear sustainability mandate, industry-wide adoption remains a challenge. Moglix aims to bridge this gap by not only aligning with national clean energy goals but also actively educating stakeholders on the benefits of transitioning to biofuels, fostering industry collaborations, and enabling structured solutions to drive large-scale adoption of sustainable energy sources.

Rahul Garg, Founder and CEO of Moglix, stated, 

India’s energy transition needs scalable and reliable alternatives, and the biofuels sector holds immense potential. However, its fragmented structure has slowed progress. Moglix plans to build an organized, transparent ecosystem that enables industries to make a seamless shift to sustainable fuels.

Moglix’s initiative aims to help industries transition to cleaner fuels, generate employment in the renewable energy sector, support policy development through industry-led case studies, and invest in biomass densification technology to enhance fuel efficiency and cost-effectiveness, ensuring biofuels become a mainstream energy source for industrial consumers.

About Moglix

Moglix is a leading B2B commerce company helping manufacturing and infrastructure businesses optimize procurement and distribution. With a digital-first approach and a strong supplier and logistics network, Moglix serves over 1,000 large manufacturers and 3,000+ factories, enabling operational efficiencies across India.

JSW One Platforms raises INR 205 Crores in Series A funding round from Japanese investor Mitsui & Co., Ltd

JSW One Platforms, the B2B e-commerce venture of US$ 22 billion JSW Group, has raised INR 205 Crores from Japan’s Mitsui & Co., Ltd in a series A funding round. The Series A funding round values JSW One Platforms at over INR 2,750 Crores.

The digital adoption and desire to increase resilience in supply chains have prompted Indian MSMEs and enterprises to go online. In January 2021, JSW Group rolled out their e-commerce business, JSW One Platforms, to be an industry-leading platform within India’s manufacturing and construction industries. JSW One Platform leverages JSW Group’s strength in manufacturing and building materials, tech-enabled logistics and credit to be a platform of choice for MSMEs and Enterprises in India. The company launched its e-commerce platform jswonemsme.com in July 2021 and has since become a trusted platform across the country. The company also operates a turn-key home construction business called JSW One Homes.

Mitsui believes that their investment in JSW One Platforms will lead to a restructuring of supply chain in India. JSW One’s digital platform will accelerate the digital discovery of supply across manufacturing and construction industries.

According to Mr Parth Jindal, Director of JSW One Platforms, “I am pleased to welcome Mitsui as an investor in JSW One Platforms. Their decision to invest in our e-commerce business validates our long-term strategic vision to capitalize on technology to take a strong leadership position in the B2B e-commerce sector. India has over 500,000 building and manufacturing MSME’s and as this number grows JSW One aims to cater to all their building materials requirements through our advanced and technology enabled products and services."

Mr Gaurav Sachdeva, CEO of JSW One Platforms, said, “We are delighted to have Mitsui as our first institutional investor. We are excited about their experience of working in the B2B industry across various markets in the world. Their investment will help us penetrate deeper into the industrial and construction industries. We also look forward to bringing other industry segments onto the platform and will continue to leverage technology to be an industry-leading platform for MSMEs."

Mr. Masaharu Okubo, Managing Officer, Country Chairperson in India of Mitsui & Co., Ltd. commented, “Our investment and partnership with JSW One Platforms not only signals our belief in the firm’s robust business model, but also our conviction in the long-term growth prospects of the B2B e-commerce space, which was catalysed by the COVID-19 pandemic. We look forward to working together to realize JSW One Platform’s strategic vision of becoming a key industry player in the region with our contribution for expanding supply source and wider product portfolio for targeting industry.”

JSW One Platforms will utilize the funds to strengthen its market presence and further enhance tech capabilities. The company plans to expand operations in newer geographies like NCR, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh to cater to the majority of the states in India and will also invest in credit, logistics, and technology stack to improve customer experience.

About JSW One Platforms: JSW One Platforms is the e-commerce venture of the US $22 billion JSW Group. It operates a B2B tech-enabled marketplace JSW One MSME, to service the building material needs of Industrial & Construction MSMEs in India. The company also operates a turn-key home construction business called JSW One Homes. JSW One Platforms is leveraging the combined strength of supply & distribution across JSW Group’s Steel, Cement & Paints businesses to build a fully integrated ecosystem for MSMEs and individual home builders.

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (8031: JP) is a global trading and investment company with a diversified business portfolio that spans approximately 63 countries in Asia, Europe, North, Central & South America, The Middle East, Africa and Oceania. Mitsui has about 5,500(Consolidated 44,000) employees and deploys talent around the globe to identify, develop, and grow businesses in collaboration with a global network of trusted partners. Mitsui has built a strong and diverse core business portfolio covering the Mineral and Metal Resources, Energy, Machinery and Infrastructure, and Chemicals industries. Leveraging its strengths, Mitsui has further diversified beyond its core profit pillars to create multifaceted value in new areas, including innovative Energy Solutions, Healthcare & Nutrition and through a strategic focus on high-growth Asian markets. This strategy aims to derive growth opportunities by harnessing some of the world’s main mega-trends: sustainability, health & wellness, digitalization and the growing power of the consumer. Mitsui has a long heritage in Asia, where it has established a diverse and strategic portfolio of businesses and partners that gives it a strong differentiating edge, provides exceptional access for all global partners to the world’s fastest growing region and strengthens its international portfolio. Mitsui opened its first branch office in India in 1955. For more information on Mitsui & Co’s businesses visit, www.mitsui.com

Introducing ClimBridge – A B2B Marketplace Exclusively for Sustainable Climate Solutions

ClimBridge is a curated marketplace that offers a wide range of sustainability products and solutions. 

GPS Renewables, a Bengaluru-based bioenergy technology firm, has launched ClimBridge, a curated B2B marketplace exclusively for sustainable climate solutions. ClimBridge aims to help businesses discover products and solutions that can cater to their climate needs.

ClimBridge is a one-stop discovery platform that provides solutions that cover the whole range of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate-related themes. From air quality products to waste-to-energy solutions, the platform offers an array of solutions that help address climate change, and speed up sustainability and climate solution adoption.

Each product listed on ClimBridge is carefully vetted and selected by a team of multi-domain industry veterans. The products are rigorously evaluated to ensure effective and quality listings. Furthermore, the marketplace also helps businesses save on time and effort, which would otherwise be spent on product discovery, trial, and error. Additionally, ClimBridge has put together a dedicated team of climate enthusiasts who can handhold businesses through the entire sales process and beyond.

Commenting on the ClimBridge, Mainak Chakraborty, Founder and CEO, GPS Renewables, said, “Businesses across India have been grappling with the effects of climate change and it's been a huge challenge for them to find trustworthy solutions to address this. The entire process of discovering credible, trustworthy, and viable sustainability products is cumbersome and time-consuming. With ClimBridge, we want to address this issue and create a seamless platform for businesses to easily discover climate solutions that are carefully evaluated and verified by industry experts”. 

Nipun OS, Chief Sustainability Officer, GPS Renewables, said, “India has committed to achieving SDG Goals by 2030. To further strengthen India’s commitment, we need strong collaboration between the public and private sectors and from other key stakeholders involved. We need an approach where governments, industry bodies, and other entities can work together towards meeting the SDG Goals. As a climate first company, our objective at GPS Renewables is to drive sustainability at scale. With ClimBridge, we aim to help responsible and climate-conscious corporates accelerate their climate adoption.”

Commenting on the new platform, Varun Karad, Chief Business Officer, GPS Renewables, said, “We are thrilled to launch a new digital platform that can help businesses effectively realise their climate goals. With ClimBridge, we are bringing the highly fragmented sustainability market under one umbrella. It's a digital platform for discovering high-tech climate solutions. We offer end to end solutions and our sales process is aided by a dedicated channel network. Furthermore, we also cater to customised requirements of businesses."

For more details, visit, https://climbridge.in/

Hybrid e-Distribution Platform gets ‘India SME 100 Award’ from Ministry of MSM&E

B2BAdda.com, India’s first hybrid e-distribution platform, has been awarded & acknowledged by Ministry of MSMEs with an ‘India SME 100 Award’ for its innovative services and brilliance in the B2B e-commerce sector. The event was organized by India SME Forum.

A total of 100 companies were honoured with the award for their pioneering work out of the 34,011 companies nominated. In line with the strategy of India SME Forum, the India SME 100 ranking acts as a catalyst to identify promising SMEs and recognize them for eventually becoming large global-oriented companies. The companies were evaluated on the basis of financial and non-financial parameters.

The Award was presented by Mr Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Micro Small and Medium Enterprise
Commenting on the achievement, Mr. Yogesh Bhatia, Founder, B2Badda.com, said, “We are delighted to be recognized as one of the TOP 100 SMEs in India specially in the challenging sector like ours. This award is a testimonial of hard work of our team to make this company a success with strong business values and fundamentals. We are glad to be the only trading and service provider to make it to the list in just a time span of 4 years.”

B2BAdda.com is an exclusive e-distribution partner for Detel Mobiles, LED TVs & Accessories and has recently added new categories like footwear, apparel, household appliances besides Mobile & Tablets, IT Products, and Complete Electronic Product Range. With this, the company plans to add more than 80,000 retailers to its platform by the end of 2020.

B2Badda.com, which started its operations in August 2017, is an exclusive e-Distribution platform for bulk buying, selling for brands, retailers, wholesalers, corporate companies, and institutions.

B2Badda.com is a part of Wow eCarts Pvt. Ltd. (a subsidiary of the S. G. Group). The platform’s reach will soon be deeper, much more comprehensive and detailed as compared to the traditional network. B2Badda.com has strengthened its IT and has a well-built communications network. One can log on to B2Badda through the website or mobile app and can access the entire range of products, avail offers directly, receive doorstep deliveries and pay by Bank transfer, online payments and introducing partner finance facility soon.
The brand provides a single purchasing point window, transparent value pricing, fast shipment and quick delivery, consistent availability of products and easy & multiple payment options.

Flipkart CEO Krishnamurthy Invests in B2B E-Commerce Firm Moglix

In his first solo personal investment, Flipkart chief executive officer (CEO) Kalyan Krishnamurthy has invested an undisclosed amount in Noida-based Moglix, a business-to-business (B2B) industrial goods marketplace backed by Ratan Tata and World Bank's IFC.

With this investment, Krishnamurthy joins Moglix’s individual investors that includes Jeff Epstein, former chief financial officer at Oracle, and Vikrampati Singhania and Shailesh Rao, ex-vice presidents at Twitter and Google, respectively, among others.

“I am happy to join the Moglix team as an investor in my personal capacity. Moglix, under Rahul’s leadership, has charted impressive growth in the B2B commerce space and is creating meaningful impact on the manufacturing industry through innovative use of technology. It is gratifying to be able to support this home-grown industrial B2B leader at this important juncture,” Krishnamurthy said in a statement.

It is not immediately clear whether Krishnamurthy will take an advisory role at Moglix or if the deal is a precursor to a potential business alliance between Moglix and Flipkart, India’s largest business-to-consumer e-commerce firm.

Started in 2015 by a former Google executive Rahul Garg with an aim of bringing in revolutionary and exciting solutions to the global e-commerce, Moglix.com is an online platform and a one stop shop for almost all the need of Industrial Tools (Power Tools, Hand Tools, Adhesives, Safety & Security and Electricals).

Rahul Garg, Founder and CEO, Moglix said, “It’s great to have Kalyan back us as an investor and join an illustrious list of global investors who have believed in Moglix’s potential. Kalyan has played an important role in shaping e-commerce in India and his experience in scaling businesses will serve as a guiding light for us as we execute on our vision to transform B2B commerce and the Indian manufacturing sector using technology and innovation.”

Moglix, which competes with Tolexo and Industrybuying,  has raised a total of $39.2 million in funding over six rounds, according to the data by Crunchbase.

Indian e-commerce market is expected to reach $120 billion by 2020, growing at an annual rate of 50% and globally, the B2B e-commerce almost doubling in size vis-à-vis the B2C e-commerce market and India is no exception to this. As the country is backed up by huge investments from global players, India is expected to be the next battle ground in the domain.

Alibaba to Use Blockchain Tech for Cross-Border Supply Chains

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, is considering blockchain tech implementation for cross-border supply chains, said Liu Song, vice president of Alibaba Group, according to People's Daily, a largest state-owned newspaper of China.

According to the report, Alibaba is planning to implement blockchain technology for cross-border supply chains to create a closed-loop ecological system that could be linked with local governments.

The Jack Ma promoted firm also plans to develop new technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain in the fields of customs brokers, international logistics and trade finances, according to Song’s extended remarks to brokerage and investment bank China Galaxy Securities.

Last month, Alibaba's international online marketplace, Tmall Global, also announced that it had launched a blockchain pilot that would trace imported goods and verify their authenticity and fight food fraud.

In October, Alibaba has announced that its cloud computing arm, Alibaba Cloud, aims to expand their enterprise-level Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) to major international markets including Europe, the United States and Southeast Asia.

In December, the company has also announced the upgrade of its foreign trade integrated service platform to a cross-border supply chain platform.

In India, cross-border wholesale business was one of Alibaba's first businesses in the country and it has already invested over $200 million dollars in its cross-border wholesale trade business in India and according to a report by FactorDaily, the company plans to invest $1 billion over 4-5 years in the India operations of the same.

To recall, in January last year , www.indianweb2.com reported that how a cryptocurrency called TRON has a Alibaba connection as most of its members have been roped in from Alibaba, and also because TRON's founder Justin Sun was the only millennial to attend Hupan University, an elite entrepreneur leadership program in China founded by Alibaba's Jack Ma .

Top featured image - REUTERS/Bobby Yip / Source

Amazon Business Launches B2B Global Selling for Indian Exporters

Exactly after three years of launching B2B e-commerce portal in the same month of April, Amazon's business arm Amazon Business today announced the expansion of its Global Selling program by launching B2B selling for Indian exporters. Through this launch, B2B sellers, manufacturers and exporters will be able to reach thousands of business customers across Amazon’s international marketplaces. Started as a pilot late last year, the program has received a positive response with over 2000 exporters registered for B2B global selling at present. Amazon’s B2B Global Selling program is present in US, UK, Germany, France, Japan and India. Once the sellers register for the individual marketplaces, they will then be able to export to the Amazon global marketplaces mentioned.

Indian B2B product exporters on Amazon can now offer a range of products across popular categories such as office products, home, PCs, business, industrial & scientific supplies (BISS) and more. Ranging from sole proprietors to the largest of Fortune 500 enterprises, Indian exporters registered with Amazon Business Global Selling program are able to directly reach out to Amazon’s global business customer base and thus get an opportunity to venture into newer market segments. The program enables features such as business-only pricing and back-end integration that helps exporters manage competitive pricing internationally and assists in managing and fulfilling bulk orders from business customers.

Commenting on the launch, Peeyush Nahar, VP B2B Marketplace Business, Amazon said, “Our Global Selling program simplified the complexities of global trade and helped Indian Sellers showcase their tremendous strengths in quality products across the world. This program has been traditionally targeting B2C customers and has witnessed a fantastic growth! We are extremely happy to expand the scope of our Global Selling program in India for B2B customers. The B2B Global Selling program takes another step by hiding the complexities of procurement processes of Fortune 500 companies from Indian Sellers. Indian Sellers can simply do what they do best: design and manufacture high quality products. Amazon Business’s Global Selling program will get the sellers in front of decisions makers of Fortune 500 companies as well as medium and small corporations across the world. To support tapping this excellent market of business customers for Indian goods globally, the program offers benefits to the Indian sellers such as discounted referral fees for bulk orders, business price and quantity discounts targeted for business customers, single selling account, etc.”

Gopal Pillai, GM & Director Seller Services, Amazon India said, “The launch of B2B Global Selling is another milestone in our commitment to transform the way India buys and sells. Since its launch in 2015 Amazon’s global selling program has opened up new market segments for Indian B2C product exporters across India by giving them easy and convenient access to Amazon’s worldwide customer base. At present, over 32,000 exporters offer over 90 million made-in-India products to customers across Amazon’s 10 global marketplaces. As we continue to witness a continued demand for made in India products across the globe, we believe this is an opportune time to further strengthen the program to enable Indian exporters access to both B2C and B2B market in US, UK, Germany, France and, Japan.”

B2B Sellers under the program will get access to the following benefits to expand and grow their business:

• Discounted Referral Fees for bulk orders: Sellers can now sell in bulk quantities and enjoy lower referral fees on select categories, compared to current fees;



• Business Price and Quantity Discounts targeted for business customers: Sellers can offer business pricing and bulk quantity discounts exclusively to business customers;



• Single Selling Account: Amazon offers sellers the convenience of using a single selling account to manage their inventory and product listings for both B2C and B2B selling;




• Complete control of Pricing, Brand and Messaging: Amazon gives the seller complete control of the messaging—from an individual product detail page, to its brand’s storefront on Amazon. Hence, the seller has the opportunity to put the best offering with the help of relevant content and product videos; and



• Amazon customer service: World-class Amazon customer service through telephone and email to address and resolve issues.

Business customers can register for their B2B Global Selling account via Amazon Seller Central. Sellers that would like to add products to Amazon’s growing business selection can learn more at Amazon Services.

Speaking about B2B e-commerce market in India, it is still at the nascent stage. Experts have predicted that India’s B2B industry will be worth Rs 45 lakh crore by 2020. And according to SME finance companies, this online industry is six times bigger than business-to-consumer (B2C) in India. Startups working in this segment are - IndiaMart, Trade India, Power2SME, Bizongo, Moglix and Tolexo, among handful of others

Amazon Business Launches B2B Global Selling for Indian Exporters

Exactly after three years of launching B2B e-commerce portal in the same month of April, Amazon's business arm Amazon Business today announced the expansion of its Global Selling program by launching B2B selling for Indian exporters. Through this launch, B2B sellers, manufacturers and exporters will be able to reach thousands of business customers across Amazon’s international marketplaces. Started as a pilot late last year, the program has received a positive response with over 2000 exporters registered for B2B global selling at present. Amazon’s B2B Global Selling program is present in US, UK, Germany, France, Japan and India. Once the sellers register for the individual marketplaces, they will then be able to export to the Amazon global marketplaces mentioned.

Indian B2B product exporters on Amazon can now offer a range of products across popular categories such as office products, home, PCs, business, industrial & scientific supplies (BISS) and more. Ranging from sole proprietors to the largest of Fortune 500 enterprises, Indian exporters registered with Amazon Business Global Selling program are able to directly reach out to Amazon’s global business customer base and thus get an opportunity to venture into newer market segments. The program enables features such as business-only pricing and back-end integration that helps exporters manage competitive pricing internationally and assists in managing and fulfilling bulk orders from business customers.

Commenting on the launch, Peeyush Nahar, VP B2B Marketplace Business, Amazon said, “Our Global Selling program simplified the complexities of global trade and helped Indian Sellers showcase their tremendous strengths in quality products across the world. This program has been traditionally targeting B2C customers and has witnessed a fantastic growth! We are extremely happy to expand the scope of our Global Selling program in India for B2B customers. The B2B Global Selling program takes another step by hiding the complexities of procurement processes of Fortune 500 companies from Indian Sellers. Indian Sellers can simply do what they do best: design and manufacture high quality products. Amazon Business’s Global Selling program will get the sellers in front of decisions makers of Fortune 500 companies as well as medium and small corporations across the world. To support tapping this excellent market of business customers for Indian goods globally, the program offers benefits to the Indian sellers such as discounted referral fees for bulk orders, business price and quantity discounts targeted for business customers, single selling account, etc.”

Gopal Pillai, GM & Director Seller Services, Amazon India said, “The launch of B2B Global Selling is another milestone in our commitment to transform the way India buys and sells. Since its launch in 2015 Amazon’s global selling program has opened up new market segments for Indian B2C product exporters across India by giving them easy and convenient access to Amazon’s worldwide customer base. At present, over 32,000 exporters offer over 90 million made-in-India products to customers across Amazon’s 10 global marketplaces. As we continue to witness a continued demand for made in India products across the globe, we believe this is an opportune time to further strengthen the program to enable Indian exporters access to both B2C and B2B market in US, UK, Germany, France and, Japan.”

B2B Sellers under the program will get access to the following benefits to expand and grow their business:

• Discounted Referral Fees for bulk orders: Sellers can now sell in bulk quantities and enjoy lower referral fees on select categories, compared to current fees;



• Business Price and Quantity Discounts targeted for business customers: Sellers can offer business pricing and bulk quantity discounts exclusively to business customers;



• Single Selling Account: Amazon offers sellers the convenience of using a single selling account to manage their inventory and product listings for both B2C and B2B selling;




• Complete control of Pricing, Brand and Messaging: Amazon gives the seller complete control of the messaging—from an individual product detail page, to its brand’s storefront on Amazon. Hence, the seller has the opportunity to put the best offering with the help of relevant content and product videos; and



• Amazon customer service: World-class Amazon customer service through telephone and email to address and resolve issues.

Business customers can register for their B2B Global Selling account via Amazon Seller Central. Sellers that would like to add products to Amazon’s growing business selection can learn more at Amazon Services.

Speaking about B2B e-commerce market in India, it is still at the nascent stage. Experts have predicted that India’s B2B industry will be worth Rs 45 lakh crore by 2020. And according to SME finance companies, this online industry is six times bigger than business-to-consumer (B2C) in India. Startups working in this segment are - IndiaMart, Trade India, Power2SME, Bizongo, Moglix and Tolexo, among handful of others

In Largest Series-B Startup Funding, Ex-Flipkart Executives' Udaan Raises $50 Mn Via Lightspeed, Yuri Milner

Bengaluru-based B2B e-commerce marketplace Udaan has raised $50 million (~ ₹320 crore) in its series-B round of funding which marked as one of the largest early-startup funding round in India, reported Times of India.

The funding round was led by Udaan's existing investor Lightspeed Venture Partners and Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, who has come on board new in his personal capacity.

Launched in November 2016 by three ex-Flipkart executives -- Vaibhav Gupta, Amod Malviya and Sujeet Kumar, Udaan is an end-to-end marketplace that connects businesses in consumer goods, fashion and electronics, offers logistics services and has recently started lending. With sellers across 80 cities, it delivers to more than 500 cities and will expand to more areas with the new capital. Its average order value is between Rs6,000 and Rs7,000.

The startup will use the freshly raised funds to add new sellers and buyers, expand logistics network, hire more engineers and sales executives and launch new services like lending

The startup had earlier raised $10 million in series A funding from Lightspeed India and Lightspeed US.

“We’ve raised this round because we have validation that our product is working. The market opportunity is huge and in just 15 months of launching, we’ve reached more than 500 cities. We also account for more than 15-20% of the business of many of the sellers on the platform. And our average repeat transactions are seven times a month. These metrics are big validation that there’s massive demand for our kind of end-to-end marketplace,” said Sujeet Kumar, who was heading logistics at Flipkart before co-founding Udaan.

The overall B2B market size is expected to be around $700 billion by 2020, according to an April 2016 report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Deloitte.

Last year, B2B e-commerce startups raised more than $200 million, the highest since 2010, according to Tracxn, a firm that tracks startups.

The biggest B2B startup funding in 2017 were $100 million funding of Just Buy Live via Ali Cloud Investment, Power2sme’s $36 million funding in series E round and Ratan Tata backed Moglix's $12 million fund raise via IFC, Rocketship and others. And, this year Udaan’s $50 million raise is largest large both for a Series B round and for a B2B startup.

In Largest Series-B Startup Funding, Ex-Flipkart Executives' Udaan Raises $50 Mn Via Lightspeed, Yuri Milner

Bengaluru-based B2B e-commerce marketplace Udaan has raised $50 million (~ ₹320 crore) in its series-B round of funding which marked as one of the largest early-startup funding round in India, reported Times of India.

The funding round was led by Udaan's existing investor Lightspeed Venture Partners and Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, who has come on board new in his personal capacity.

Launched in November 2016 by three ex-Flipkart executives -- Vaibhav Gupta, Amod Malviya and Sujeet Kumar, Udaan is an end-to-end marketplace that connects businesses in consumer goods, fashion and electronics, offers logistics services and has recently started lending. With sellers across 80 cities, it delivers to more than 500 cities and will expand to more areas with the new capital. Its average order value is between Rs6,000 and Rs7,000.

The startup will use the freshly raised funds to add new sellers and buyers, expand logistics network, hire more engineers and sales executives and launch new services like lending

The startup had earlier raised $10 million in series A funding from Lightspeed India and Lightspeed US.

“We’ve raised this round because we have validation that our product is working. The market opportunity is huge and in just 15 months of launching, we’ve reached more than 500 cities. We also account for more than 15-20% of the business of many of the sellers on the platform. And our average repeat transactions are seven times a month. These metrics are big validation that there’s massive demand for our kind of end-to-end marketplace,” said Sujeet Kumar, who was heading logistics at Flipkart before co-founding Udaan.

The overall B2B market size is expected to be around $700 billion by 2020, according to an April 2016 report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Deloitte.

Last year, B2B e-commerce startups raised more than $200 million, the highest since 2010, according to Tracxn, a firm that tracks startups.

The biggest B2B startup funding in 2017 were $100 million funding of Just Buy Live via Ali Cloud Investment, Power2sme’s $36 million funding in series E round and Ratan Tata backed Moglix's $12 million fund raise via IFC, Rocketship and others. And, this year Udaan’s $50 million raise is largest large both for a Series B round and for a B2B startup.

Moglix To Empower $300 Bn Manufacturing Unit In India; Launches Green GST

Manufacturing sector is the least digitized compared to other sectors in India. Today, only 20% of manufacturing units are using digital in their supply chain management. With GST on the anvil, this number is expected to go up, as it will be mandatory for businesses of all sizes to file their indirect taxes online as per the new tax regime.

In making manufacturing units GST complaint, Green GST is also tackling the challenge of making vendors – mostly small manufacturers and traders – ready for the new regime.

Recently, B2B e-commerce marketplace, Moglix has launched ‘Green GST’ - a SAAS-based GST application solution for manufacturing units across India. Aimed at improving transparency and digitization in the manufacturing space, the tool will provide organisations with end-to-end Goods and Services Tax (GST) compliance support. The Green GST solution will be offered free of cost for a 30 day trial period to a user or companies with turnover below $4 million. Post the trial, if the user is willing to continue, they will have to bear a subsidized costs related to GST Suvidha Provider (GSP) transaction. The cost will be valid for up to 2400 invoices a year for a single user. The solution has been developed to make supply chains of manufacturing units GST complaint ahead of the law implementation on July 1st, 2017.

Commenting on the development, Rahul Garg, Founder and CEO, Moglix said, “Moglix’s Green GST is aligned with the government’s One Country, One Tax vision. Our solution will help India’s manufacturing units become fully GST compliant within their supply chain, in an effective and efficient manner. Through this solution, Moglix hopes to make its contribution to making India future-ready, and also help promote a clean, green and transparent business environment."

Green GST leverages Moglix’s expertise in digitizing supply chains, especially those of manufacturing units. It is a feature-rich solution for filing of GST, reconciliation of invoices, maintaining dashboards for multiple plants and warehouses, and managing taxes for various locations and cross-border trading.  Moglix will extend its existing commerce eco-system to consolidate small vendors, and create a compliant atmosphere for manufacturing units to operate in. This comes on the back of Moglix’s GST filing solution introduced in December 2016 to allow mid-to-large-sized manufacturing companies file and reconcile their GST payments with the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN).

“In these interesting times, Moglix stands at a unique confluence of expertise in technology and the manufacturing supply chain. We are excited about the tremendous opportunity for our customers to enhance their business footprint using our technology and analytics capabilities,” said Garg.

Founded in August 2015 by Rahul Garg who was previously the Head of Advertising Exchange at Google Asia,  Moglix is an B2B e-commerce marketplace that specializes in B2B procurement of industrial products such as MRO, fasteners, electrical, hardware, pneumatics, safety items and more. Startup has raised Series A and Seed funding of Rs38 Cr from venture capital firms like Accel Partners, Jungle Ventures, SeedPlus and Venture Highway. The company is backed by Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus, Tata Sons as an investor. Recently, SAP Labs identified Moglix as its startup tech partner for shaping B2B commerce in India.