It took Flipkart a decade to raise $4.65B

Tencent, eBay and Microsoft have cumulatively made investments aggregating to $1.4 billion in Indian online marketplace, Flipkart. The latest funding round from the three global technology giants, at a post-transaction valuation of $11.6 billion, adds to an existing group of investors that include Tiger Global Management, Naspers Group, Accel Partners and DST Global. According to Flipkart, the three have made the largest investment in the ecommerce company’s 10 year history as well as in India’s Internet sector. Flipkart in its 10 year existence has seen a slew of investments from a variety of investors. In 2009 the company raised $1 million from Accel Partners, in 2010 it raised another $10 million from Tiger Global, in 2011 the company saw $20 million invested by Tiger Global in a Series C funding round. In 2012 Iconiq, Accel Partners, Tiger Global and Naspers together invested $255 million in its Series D funding round. In 2013 the company raised a $360 million from two different investment rounds; July 2013 saw participation from Iconiq, Accel Partners, Tiger Global and Naspers while its October 2013 round saw participation from Tiger Global, Vulcan Capital, Morgan Stanley, Sofina and Dragoneer Investment Group. In 2014 Flipkart raised a total of $1.91 billion from three different investment rounds which included all the existing investors and new participants such as Qatar Investment Authority, Steadview Capital Management, T. RowePrice, GIC, DST, GreenOaks and Baille Gifford. The ecommerce company raised $700 million from Qatar and Tiger in 2015 and after a gap of about 2 years has now raised $1.4 from Microsoft, Tencent and eBay. From its first fund raise in 2009, the company has in total raised a little over $4.65 billion from almost 20 investors. Today, Tencent, the provider of internet value-added services in China, has joined Flipkart as a strategic investor, bringing experience in linking social networking and e-commerce. According to the company, Tencent will lend significant expertise to Flipkart as it furthers its leadership position across the e-commerce market in India.

“This strategic partnership enables Tencent to participate in the exciting opportunities in e-commerce and payments in India. We look forward to helping Flipkart to deliver compelling experiences to users throughout India, and to contribute to the development of the internet ecosystem there,” said Martin Lau, President, Tencent.