Shadowfax confirms $100M round to fuel instant delivery push

Shadowfax, one of the largest logistics service providers to hyper-local and on-demand delivery businesses in India, has raised $100 million in a new funding round as it clocks an yearly growth of 35%.

TPG NewQuest led Shadowfax’s Series E financing round, which includes some secondary transactions, the startup said on Tuesday. TechCrunch reported last year that TPG NewQuest was evaluating an investment in Shadowfax.

Existing backers including the e-commerce giant Flipkart, Mirae Asset Venture Investments, IFC, Nokia Growth Partners, Qualcomm, Eight Roads Ventures and Trifecta Capital also participated in the new funding, the startup said.

Shadowfax is tackling the country’s highly fragmented last-mile delivery infrastructure. India’s consumer delivery networks are often inefficient and struggle with complex urban environments and inconsistent service quality. This leads to delays, elevated costs, and frustration especially for small businesses that otherwise don’t have sophisticated delivery capabilities.

The Bengaluru-headquartered startup is attempting to streamline logistics operations by unifying disparate elements in India’s last-mile ecosystem.

Shadowfax’s network today reaches over 2,500 cities and more than 15,000 zip codes. Shadowfax says it makes over 2 million packages delivery each day and has amassed over 3.5 million registered users.

“As a third-party logistics organization, we have gained market share tremendously over the last 24 months. And we have done so while remaining profitable,” Abhishek Bansal, co-founder and chief executive of Shadowfax, told TechCrunch in an interview.

Shadowfax operates a logistics and delivery network of over 125,000 monthly active delivery personnels, and works with numerous firms including Flipkart, Meesho and many direct-to-consumer brands. The startup hasn’t lost one customer in five years, Bansal said.

Bansal attributed the growth to the wider adoption of quick-commerce in India, which he said has helped the startup grow at a 35% rate.

“We have a hyper-local arm as well and that has a huge exposure to quick-commerce firms. We are working with all quick-commerce firms, and any brand that needs to deliver the same day or the day after,” he added.

Founded in 2015, Shadowfax has raised more than $220 million in primary and secondary transactions.

In a statement, Amit Gupta, Partner and Head of India and Southeast Asia at TPG NewQuest, said Shadowfax is “revolutionizing” the e-commerce logistics sector in India.

Shadowfax is Mirae Asset’s first investment in India and the venture firm has participated in each subsequent round.

“We believe that logistics is fundamental to ecommerce and hyperlocal commerce and that it enables the growth of these markets. Abhishek and Vaibhav together with their team have built a highly scalable platform and have continued to deliver even during challenging periods,” Ashish Dave, CEO of Mirae Asset Venture Investments (India), said in a statement.

“Throughout the last 5 years, they have invested in growing the network and the organization while also delivering on the right financial metrics.”