Flipkart is an e-commerce company founded in 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal. The company is registered in Singapore, but has its headquarters in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Flipkart has launched its own product range under the name "DigiFlip" with products including tablets, USBs, and laptop bags.[
Flipkart’s last fundraising round in May 2015 had pegged its valuation at$15 billion.In May 2016, Morgan Stanley lowered Flipkart’s valuation at$9.39 billion. As more and ore consumers turned to Flipkart for shopping, investors turned to Flipkart to support the company’s future strategy. The company raised US$1 million in 2009 from venture capital funds Accel India, and later on US$10 million in 2010 and US$20 million in June 2011 from Tiger Global. But company took everyone by surprise when it announced that it raised$1 billion from already existing investors including Tiger Global Management LLC, Accel Partners, and Morgan Stanley Investment Management and a new investor Singapore sovereign-wealth fund GIC.
New York-based private equity company Tiger Global Management LLC is the largest investor in the company today. Till today, the company has privately raised about$2.7 billion in multiple rounds of funding.
Flipkart also grew via acquisition. The company acquired many firms such as ‘WeRead’ in 2010, Mime360 and Chakpak.com in 2011, Letsbuy.com in 2012 and then myntra.com( India’s largest online apparel store) in 2014.
By mid 2016, Flipkart is planning to raise a minimum of USD 5 billion through an Initial Public Offering(IPO) listing in New York Stock Exchange(NYSE). This will be the largest public offer by any Indian business till date and will value the company at over USD 30 billion.
Be it selling products worth Rs. 650 Crore on ‘The Big Billion Day’ or exclusive tie-ups with companies such as Motorola Mobility and Xiaomi Tech, the company stands for converting every challenge into an opportunity. On the brighter aspect, with such a huge amount of raised funds and consumer base, there lies a potential of India producing a$100 billion company, one of the most difficult task ever but possible. Sachin wants Flipkart to be that company. The aim is set and next step is to deploy strategies to achieve the same.
Techstory wishes success to Flipkart!