The list of unicorns India continues to grow with online pharmacy 1mg becoming the latest entry in the coveted club. The company raised $41 million in an internal round of funding led by Tata Digital, following which its valuation has reached $1.25 billion.
Tata Digital had acquired 1mg in June last year at a valuation of around $450 million.
“The new financing has happened at a significant premium. The discussions were to close at a higher valuation before the markets turned choppy. The company will look to raise a bigger round later this year or next year,” a person aware of the development told Economic Times.
Regulatory filings indicated that nearly $40 million in funding has come in already with Tata Digital and others participating in it. Besides Tatas, some other existing investors also took part in the funding round, according to a person privy of matter.
1mg latest achievement comes at a time when rival company PharmEasy is also looking to raise a new round. It had recently cancelled its plans for an initial public offering. API Holdings Ltd., owner of India’s largest online pharmacy PharmEasy, withdrew its preliminary filing for an IPO, citing market conditions and strategic considerations, late last month.
1mg also faces competition from industrialist Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance’s Netmeds and another online pharmacy Apollo.
The company’s, based in Gurugram, revenue from operations more than doubled to Rs 627 crore in fiscal year 2022 as against Rs 309 crore. However, its losses also rose by close to 70 per cent at Rs 526 crore
Unicorns in India
Last month, logistics aggregator Shiprocket became the 20th company in India this year to join the unicorn club. Other Indian startups that entered the unicorn club this year include Fractal, LEAD, Xpressbees, Uniphore, Hasura, CredAvenue, Amagi, Oxyzo, Open, PhysicsWallah.
It is worth mentioning here that India ranks third globally in the startup ecosystem and also in terms of the number of unicorns. A few days back, Union Minister Jitendra Singh had said that there are currently 105 unicorns, out of which 44 were born in 2021 and 19 in 2022.