Wheelocity, a semi-urban commerce platform, has successfully raised $15 million in an extended Series A round, led by existing investor Lightspeed. The funding round also saw participation from Alteria Capital, Anicut Capital, and the company’s founder.
This Bengaluru-based startup had previously raised $12 million in a Series A round in July 2022, also led by Lightspeed.
Since its last funding, Wheelocity claims to have expanded its footprint to more than 3,500 towns and villages, reaching one million consumers in just six months. With this new funding, the company aims to accelerate its growth, setting a target of reaching 20,000 towns and villages within the next 12 months and serving 10 million consumers.
The funds will be directed toward expanding Wheelocity’s proprietary technology stack, improving its direct reach network, and bolstering teams across various departments, including category management, operations, product, and engineering.
After a strategic shift in its business model last year, Wheelocity moved from a B2B framework to a B2C approach. Prior to this, the company was focused on supplying fresh produce to quick-commerce platforms such as Swiggy Instamart, Dunzo, Blinkit, and Zepto.
Founded in September 2021 by Selvam VMS and Senthil Kumar, Wheelocity is on a mission to bridge the commerce access gap in India’s semi-urban and rural markets, where over 800 million people are largely underserved by current platforms. By integrating advanced technology with supply chain innovations, the company aims to cater to India’s next 800 million consumers.
Wheelocity’s platform is designed to address the challenges faced by semi-urban India. It delivers high-frequency, direct access to essential goods like fresh produce and groceries, with plans for future expansion into other discretionary categories. The platform also offers a hybrid offline-online model that is specifically tailored to first-time users of organized commerce.
While the company has not yet filed its annual financial report for FY24, its operating revenue for FY23 was Rs 117 crore, with a loss of Rs 12.56 crore.