[Funding alert] Wheelocity Raises $12 Mn in series A round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners

Wheelocity, a Sustainable supply-chain network for fresh products, has raised $12 million in a Series A funding round from Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Anicut Capital. The funding round was a mix of equity and debt round.

Lightspeed Venture Partners invests around 80% of the total amount in exchange of equity, and rest of amount had contributed by Anicut in equity and debt.

The startup plans to use the funds in three broad areas - building more on the tech stack, expanding areas of business operations, and building out its farm-side network.

Wheelocity was founded in September 2021 by Selvam VMS, It enables procurement and distribution of fresh produce with the help of its technology stack and supply chain network for B2C and B2B players like Dunzo, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto, Blinkit, Ninjakart, Zomato Hyperpure, and others.

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Through the new fund, the company would now like to foray into other categories of fresh products such as meat and poultry, fish and seafood, bread and eggs, milk and dairy. It currently handles 700 metric tonnes of production per day across its network, which is present in 12 cities including Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai.

The company aims to handle 1,500 metric tonnes of production every day by the end of 2022.

“We are investing very heavily on technology, so we are building our team massively. Also, farm-side network is going to be a very extensive network, which again is going to call for us to expand deeper into the country,” said, Selvam VMS, founder and CEO of Wheelocity. Selvam also added that currently the startup's offering is limited to fruits and vegetables, and the fund will help Wheelocity in other areas of fresh produce as well.

“Traditionally, India has been running its fresh supply chain also on a model that is similar to FMCG or grocery supply chain and that’s the reason why we see India as a country lose a very large portion of our harvest to wastages, especially in the fresh produce. That’s the exact problem we are solving,” he added.

About Wheelocity

Wheelocity is a supply chain network with the objective of resolving India's malnutrition issue by minimizing food wastage through technology-enabled supply chains for fresh commerce. Wheelocity is India's one of top providers of fresh supply chain solutions.

Wheelocity aims to eliminate food waste and hunger by using a novel entrepreneurial and engineering-based approach to supply chains. Wheelocity is reshaping the architecture of the fresh produce market through supply networks powered by technology.

Wheelocity, founded in 2021, has a network that spans all of India, processing almost 700 tonnes of fresh food daily. Their Vision Wheelocity is powered by innovation. They wish to deliver the finest available solutions to the supply chain business in order to expedite the process of getting food from the farm to your plate, hence addressing the issue of malnutrition by reducing food waste caused by supply chain mismanagement.

Consequently, their mission is "To Eliminate Food Waste Using a tech-powered Supply Chain."

They have created an integrated network including Collection Centers, Distribution Centers, Dark stores, and first mile & mid mile logistics to establish a fast-moving and optimized supply chain for fresh produce such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products, poultry, and meat. They provide their clients with the resources and ecosystem they need to reduce costs, maintain quality, optimize inventory, maintain availability, scale and create maximum customer delight.

Wheelocity utilizes a three-dimensional model, creating synergy between processes, networks, and technology to develop the most efficient and potent supply chain network. They use cutting-edge technologies, like AI and IoT to boost the transparency and efficacy of supply chains, while capitalizing on the synergy of their integrated networks and superior operational rigor to revolutionize India's approach to fresh commerce.