Blinkit’s Parent Company-Grofers Receives $150 million Loan from Zomato

According to regulatory papers, Zomato would finance roughly $150 million to Grofers India, the parent company of rapid commerce start-up Blinkit. Mukunda Foods, a food robotics and automation start-up will receive a $5 million investment and a 16.66 percent share.

The loan will be available for a period of no more than one year, with an annual interest rate of 12%. The money will be disbursed in one or more tranches. This debt financing is part of the company's planned investment in India's fast commerce area, for which it had set aside $400 million in cash over the next two years.

Zomato and Blinkit have inked a term sheet, as per sources, in which Blinkit will be integrated with the company in a $700-800 million deal.

Manufacturer of Robotics Equipment

Mukunda, on the other hand, is a culinary robotics company that designs and manufactures small robotic devices to automate restaurant food preparation. Their products allow restaurants to expand quickly while preserving food quality and customer experience uniformity across various locations.

Mukunda also assists restaurants in becoming more efficient by lowering labour costs, eliminating waste, and increasing throughput in the kitchen.

In the filing, Zomato stated, "Our investment will help Mukunda Foods scale faster, help cut restaurant food prices, boost margins, and enhance customer happiness."

Due to Pandemic, Mukunda's revenue dropped by more than half in FY21, reaching. In FY20, the company made a loss of 32.47 million, compared to a profit of 103.03 million.

About Blinkit:

Blinkit (previously Grofers) is an immediate delivery service based in India. It is situated in Gurgaon and was founded in December 2013. Customers can order groceries and other necessities through a smartphone application. Employees at Blinkit then secure the items in their warehouse and deliver them to the customer within 10 minutes.

The company was delivering 1.25 lakh orders every day by November 2021. It is currently available in more than 30 Indian cities. The startup has raised approximately US$630 million from investors such as SoftBank, Tiger Global, and Sequoia Capital as of 2021.

It primarily delivers groceries, fresh fruits and vegetables, mobile phones and accessories, kitchenware, books, home and office supplies, bakery items, pet, baby, and personal care products, electronics, flowers, and other items.