Dunzo, the Indian hyperlocal delivery upstart backed by Google and Reliance, could see its last remaining founder — Kabeer Biswas — exit the company as well, reports MoneyControl. This comes amid reports suggesting Reliance’s potential write-off of its nearly $200Mn investment in the startup. Dunzo was valued at $1.2Bn at its peak, though is now reportedly up for sale in the vicinity of $50-70Mn.
The report suggests Biswas could join Walmart-owned Flipkart’s quick commerce arm, ‘Flipkart Minutes’, as Head of Operations. There is no clarity or confirmation received from Dunzo, Flipkart or Biswas himself. Biswas is likely to work closely with Hemant Badri, senior vice president (SVP) at Flipkart.
Dunzo’s rise and fall is reminiscent of what has happened to several other unicorn startups that India has produced in recent years. The startup, which started as a WhatsApp group, has raised over $400Mn across several funding rounds, from the likes of Google, Reliance, Blume Ventures and others. However, excessive cash burn, ignorance of key business fundamentals are some of the factors that led to the company shrinking in size significantly. Reports of the company delaying employee salaries started coming in from September of 2023, usually the first sign of a company sliding down.
Then further reports emerged in, suggesting Reliance — India’s largest public company by market cap, owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, had written off its entire investment in the company. Dunzo is now looking for buyers at a valuation, which is less than 1/20th of what it was valued at, during its fundraising spree.