Homegrown Licious raises $192mn, aims for expansion

New Delhi, July 3 With an aim to invest in technology-led transformation and expand in the international market, homegrown startup Licious, which sells fresh meat and seafood online, has announced its Series F funding round of $192 million.

The funds raised through Series F will be deployed towards quality improvement and customer experience elevation along with expanding presence in a greater number of Indian cities, powering the international expansion plan, augmenting capabilities in existing markets, strengthening the omni-channel presence and powering new product launches, the company said.

"With every passing year, Licious has received overwhelming love and adoption across all cities of India. This is just the beginning in our pursuit of building an exemplary and iconic tech-led D2C brand," Vivek Gupta and Abhay Hanjura, Co-founders of Licious, said in a statement.

"There is a massive opportunity to be unlocked in this large $40 billion sector which has hitherto been devoid of safety, innovation, quality and sustainability standards," they added.

The round is led by Singapore-headquartered investment company Temasek and Multiples Private Equity. The Brunei Investment Agency also participated in the round.

Existing investors 3one4 Capital, Bertelsmann India Investments, Vertex Growth Fund, and Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India have also participated in this round of fundraising. A few early investors have also exited from their investments with this round.

Currently, Licious is present in 14 Indian cities and has over 3,500 employees.