India’s leading online grocery store, BigBasket, announced that it has received $300 million in a funding round led by the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. The funding has strengthened BigBasket’s position in its competition for a greater market share with the US giant, Amazon.

According to a filing made by BigBasket to Indian regulators, an Alibaba unit has invested $146 million in the company and has subscribed to compulsorily convertible preference shares. The round also saw participation from Sands Capital Pvt Growth Ltd , International Finance Corp and Abraaj Basket I Pvt Ltd, all of which invested a total of $50.8 million in BigBasket. The identity of who invested the remainder of the $300 million remains unknown.

“BigBasket is delighted to receive this funding from Alibaba, which will essentially be directed towards growth and consolidation. The multinational e-commerce retailer fits in best with what we believe in,” Co-founder and CEO, Hari Menon, said.

BigBasket, which sells every grocery item from vegetables and frozen meats to shampoos, has not disclosed the breakdown of the funding, however it has stated that the funds raised will be directed toward building farmer networks, expanding far deeper into the cities where they are currently operating and becoming the most preferred employer for blue collar jobs.

“The funds will be directed towards bettering our technological, analytical, and infrastructural prowess, all of which will enable the company to move up the curve,” said Menon

The company was co-founded in 2011 by Hari Menon, V S Sudhakar, Vipul Parekh ,V.S Ramesh and Abhinay Choudhari . The Bengaluru headquartered company has more than 6 million registered customers and is currently operating in 26 cities across the country.  The market research company Forrester, has estimated that of India’s $750 million worth online grocery market, BigBasket accounts for roughly 40 per cent. The company’s main rivals are the Softbank-backed Grofers and Amazon’s India Unit.

According to Menon, the company is currently partnering with approximately 1800 farmers across the country and aims to increase its base to over 3000 farmers.  The company also claims to have current employee strength of 16,000.

Alibaba, through its units, holds stakes in various companies through its investments in India’s fast growing online retail space, including a stake in the parent company of the digital payments wallet, Paytm.

(Picture courtesy: linkingtribes.com)