Firstcry’s Supam Maheshwari is building an 800-pound gorilla in India’s Thrasio race

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Supam Maheshwari raised about $2.3 million for Firstcry’s first institutional fundraise in 2011, not a bad amount at the time. Four years later, Firstcry’s logistics unit XpressBees mopped up $11 million in a series-A fundraise after it was spun off. Those seem like small change now, with Maheshwari set to secure $75 million (Rs 560 crore) for his latest venture, GlobalBees, providing it a massive thrust in the heated race to build India’s Thrasio.

Apart from the huge capital advantage, GlobalBees has heavy hitting investors lined up to back it—SoftBank Vision Fund, India’s largest family office PremjiInvest, and private equity major ChrysCapital, according to sources briefed on the matter. All these firms are investors in Firstcry.

The deal, which will be among the largest series A funding rounds in the country, may also see the entry of new investors, the sources said. 

The 800-pound Gorilla: GlobalBees was seeded with an initial investment from Firstcry. (Firstcry is registered as BrainBees, and XpressBees as BusyBees.)