Reliance Retail officially writes off $200 Mn investment in Dunzo

Reliance Industries has completely written off its ₹1,645 crore (about $200 million) investment in hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo.

Reliance Retail Ventures had invested in early 2022, acquiring a 25.8% stake in the now-defunct quick commerce platform.

Reliance Industries Ltd’s FY25 annual report shows that its 78,923 shares in Dunzo, valued at ₹1,645 crore in FY24, are now worth nothing. The shut-down startup earned just ₹1 crore in operating revenue in FY25.

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This comes over seven months after reports in January that Reliance Retail, Dunzo’s largest shareholder, wrote off its $200 million investment. That same month, cofounder and CEO Kabeer Biswas resigned and joined flipkart’s quick commerce venture, Minutes.

The write-off comes three years after Reliance led a $240 million funding round in January 2022, seen then as its push into the quick commerce space.

The deal was meant to boost hyperlocal logistics for Reliance Retail’s stores and enhance its omnichannel presence. Dunzo was also expected to support JioMart’s merchant network with last-mile delivery.

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By the time Dunzo shut down, Reliance Retail held a 26% stake while google India owned 19.3% and Lightbox 10%.

About Dunzo 

Founded in 2014 by Biswas, Ankur Aggarwal, Dalvir Suri and Mukund Jha, Dunzo started as a pick-and-drop service and later moved into grocery delivery.

Despite several innovations and raising nearly $450 million over its lifetime, the company’s downfall began last year when it was revealed that it was burning millions without matching the revenue growth of rivals like Blinkit, Instamart and Zepto.

In FY23, Dunzo’s net loss jumped 4X year-on-year to ₹1,801 crore, while revenue grew 3X to ₹67.7 crore. As funding dried up, it tried several pivots, but none worked. Struggling to sustain operations or find a buyer, Dunzo eventually shut down.

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