A unit of China’s Alibaba has invested $146 million in online grocer BigBasket, strengthening its position in the country’s online retail space and potentially posing a challenge to US rival Amazon.com.
Alibaba.com Singapore Ecommerce Pvt Ltd led the $196.7 million Series E funding round, which was approved by the BigBasket board in January, regulatory filings showed.
Online grocery sales are fast becoming popular in India, with BigBasket, SoftBank-backed rival Grofers and Amazon’s India unit vying for a bigger piece of the market.
Sands Capital, International Finance Corp and Abraaj Basket I also participated in the latest funding round.
Founded in 2011, Bengaluru-headquartered BigBasket services more than 6 million registered customers across 26 Indian cities.
Through its units, Alibaba holds various investments in India’s growing online retail space, including a stake in the parent of mobile payments provider Paytm.
