Tiger Global, Insight Partners Issues $ 70 Million Check For Apna; Rating increases 5x

Apna, a professional networking platform for blue-collar workers, is the latest pick from Tiger Global, the famous New York-based hedge fund that has been writing checks for Indian startups more than ever since the beginning of this year.

The Bengaluru-based startup has raised $ 70 million in a Series B round jointly led by Tiger Global and Insight Partners, along with the participation of existing investors Sequoia Capital India, Lightspeed India, Greenoaks Capital and Rocketship VC.

The financing deal values ​​Apna at $ 570 million, five times more than three months ago when Apna raised $ 12.5 million in its Series A round. With this latest investment, the two-year-old startup has raised over $ 90 million to date.

Apna plans to use the fresh funds to develop new products, increase its team size and enter new markets in Southeast Asia and the United States by next year, aside from strengthening its presence in existing Indian cities and expanding its presence across the country over the next six months, a media release said on Wednesday.

Apna (Hindi for “our”) was founded in 2019 by Nirmit Parikh and uses his app to connect job seekers with recruiters, making the application process easier. The company’s platform hosts many types of job vacancies, such as: B. office assistants, copywriters, carpenters, electricians and more. It claims to have over 10 million users on board, with a large number of customers from India’s Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

Apna is currently present in 14 cities including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Delhi, Mumbai and Pune. It counts companies like Zomato, Burger King, Delhivery, Teamlease, G4S Global, Swiggy, Shadowfax and 1mg among those who rely on its platform to meet hiring needs. The startup claims it grew 50 times in size last year when millions of low-skilled workers became unemployed after COVID-19 hit the country in March 2020.

For the past five months, Tiger Global has been on a funding spree in the world’s third largest startup ecosystem. It alongside fellow marquee investors has written bold checks and turned nine startups from 14 companies that entered the elite billion dollar club this year into unicorns.

In addition, it has pumped millions of dollars into early-stage startups like automotive startup GoMechanic, health insurance startup Plum, logistics tech startup Locus, and crypto exchange Coinswitch Kuber. Tiger Global has reportedly been considering a few more startups, including edtech startup Classplus, social community enabler Kutumb, and fintech company BharatPe.