SoftBank in talks with Rivigo to invest ~$100 million

SoftBank, the Japanese technology giant, is in talks with the surface transport logistics provider Rivigo for a $100 million capital infusion. If the deal goes through, it will value the three-year old startup close to $1 billion, pushing it into the big unicorn club. It was valued at $440 million during November’16 when it last raised funds. The startup has been successful in raising funds due to its prudent business model. It has raised more than $100 million in equity and debt financing from the likes of global private equity major Warburg Pincus and stage-agnostic investment firm SAIF Partners.

Founded in 2014 by McKinsey alumni Deepak Garg and Gazal Kalra, Rivigo is not only the largest buyer of trucks in India but has also launched a slew of technology products over the past year. The company is also benefitting from the rollout in July of the goods and services tax that got rid of state levies, making transportation by trucks smoother. Per a report by Avendus Capital, the market for logistics-technology businesses, which includes delivery startups, truck aggregators and warehousing firms, is expected to surge to $9.6 billion by 2020 from $1.4 billion in 2015.