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[Funding alert] Retailtech platform Daalchini raises $4 mn in Series A round

By Viestories
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Retail tech company Daalchini reported raising $4 million in its Series A fundraising round, which was led by Unicorn India Ventures. Existing backers including Artha Venture Fund, Ajay Kaul, the former CEO of Dominos India, and VSS Investco, the investment arm of Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the CEO of Paytm, also participated in the round.

Retail tech company Daalchini reported raising $4 million in its Series A fundraising round, which was led by Unicorn India Ventures. Existing backers including Artha Venture Fund, Ajay Kaul, the former CEO of Dominos India, and VSS Investco, the investment arm of Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the CEO of Paytm, also participated in the round.

The startup claimed that it will utilise the investment to increase its market reach and develop its technology.

Prerna Kalra and Vidya Bhushan, former executives at Paytm, founded Daalchini in 2017, which distributes snacks and home-style meals via automated kiosks, mobility retail stores, and vending machines. According to the company, the Daalchini app currently has more than 2 lakh active users per month.

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“Daalchini aims to establish its footprints at every 200 meters of habitable area with its autonomous smart stores and vending machines. Today, our country has just a few thousand vending machines, while the US or Japan has more than one autonomous store for every 200 people. We are far from the true potential of this kind of retail,” said Prerna Kalra, cofounder and CEO of Daalchini Technologies.

One of India's fastest-growing Retailtech businesses, according to Daalchini, has expanded by 300% in the past year. With a turnover of Rs. 12 crore in FY2022, it has attained Product Market Fit (PMF). Within 45 days, it says that more than 90% of its vending machines test positive for EBITA.

Speaking on the investment, Ruchi Pincha, Investment Associate, Unicorn India Ventures, said, “The RetailTech segment in India is going through a massive transition from its traditional physical store form to a digital one, the speed of which has been intensified by the pandemic. In this phase, Daalchini represents the best of both worlds with a ubiquitous physical presence backed by a strong technological framework that prioritizes its customers’ needs and convenience. At Unicorn India Ventures, we are always looking to support such companies that retain the unique essence of their sector and work on enhancing the overall customer experience with technological innovation.”

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Anirudh A. Damani, Artha Venture Fund, said,“As the earliest backer of Daalchini, we are excited to see the Company deepen its footprints within the industry through its fully integrated IoT solutions. They provide a convenient, safe, and affordable snacking solution for the working population while delivering real-time insights, vast reach, increased accessibility, and better control of marketing spending to food brands, all at the click of a button.”

Daalchini provides snacks, beverages, home-cooked food, healthy bars, fruits, etc. through its network of automatic vending machines across 15 Indian cities including Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Pune, and Bangalore.

About Daalchini

Daalchini is India’s leading provider of Smart Vending Machines. Daalchini is a brand of full-stack smart retail offerings that cater to on-the-go food consumption with a specialised supply chain designed to serve 6-meal-a-day needs of their customers. Their product suite has complete platform to launch vending machines, micro-markets and mobility solutions.

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