Wheelocity raises $15 Mn led by Lightspeed

Semi-urban commerce platform Wheelocity has raised $15 million in an extended Series A funding round led by existing investor Lightspeed, with participation from Alteria Capital, Anicut Capital, and the company’s founder.

The Bengaluru-based firm previously raised $12 million in a Series A round led by Lightspeed in July 2022.

In just six months, Wheelocity claims to have established its presence in over 3,500 towns and villages, serving one million consumers. The fresh funding will drive the company’s expansion to 20,000 towns and villages over the next 12 months, targeting a user base of 10 million consumers, according to a press release.

The company added that this growth will be supported by investments in its proprietary technology stack, direct reach network, and teams across category management, operations, product, and engineering.

Last year, the company pivoted from a B2B model to a B2C approach. Previously, it supplied fresh fruits and vegetables to quick-commerce companies such as Swiggy Instamart, Dunzo, Blinkit, and Zepto.

Founded by Selvam VMS and Senthil Kumar in September 2021, Wheelocity aims to bridge the commerce access gap across India’s semi-urban and rural markets, where over 800 million people remain largely underserved by existing commerce platforms. The platform combines technology with deep supply chain innovation to serve the country’s next 800 million consumers.

To address the challenges in semi-urban India, Wheelocity has built a platform that delivers high-frequency direct access infrastructure, beginning with essential goods (fresh and grocery) as a foundation for expansion into discretionary categories. It also offers a hybrid offline-online model tailored to first-time users of organized commerce.

While Wheelocity has yet to file its annual financial report for FY24, the firm reported Rs 117 crore in operating revenue with a loss of Rs 12.56 crore in FY23.