Snapdeal Raises $500 Million From Alibaba, Foxconn, and SoftBank

Existing investors Temasek, BlackRock, Myriad and Premji Invest also participated in the latest funding round, Snapdeal said in a statement.

The company had raised more than $1 billion (roughly Rs. 6,542 crores), from investors including Softbank (roughly Rs. 4,102 crores) and iconic business leader Ratan Tata (personal investment).

As per market estimates, the new round would value the city-based firm at about $4-5 billion.

"We see this milestone as a significant endorsement of Snapdeal's strategy and commitment to create life changing experiences for millions of small businesses and consumers in India," Snapdeal Co-Founder and CEO Kunal Bahl said.

He added, with global leaders like Alibaba, Foxconn, and SoftBank supporting the company, its efforts towards building India's most impactful digital commerce ecosystem will be propelled further, enabling it to contribute towards creating a Digital India.

Snapdeal, founded in 2010, has more than 150,000 sellers on its platform with over 15 million products and a reach to over 5,000 towns and cities across the country.

PE firms and angel investors are aggressively funding startups and Internet-led businesses in India, targeting higher returns in the years to come.

Rivals Flipkart and Amazon have also committed to invest about $8 billion (roughly Rs. 52,341 crores) over the next few years in India, where e-commerce is growing at a blazing pace, driven by affordable smartphones and increasing Internet penetration.

Recently, Foxconn founder Terry Gou said that India is a key market this year for his group. SoftBank, too, has been aggressively investing in India acquiring stake in Internet- led businesses like Snapdeal, Ola and Oyo Rooms.