Kirana startups are finding their mojo again, and not without reason

A few months ago, not many would have bet on India’s business-to-business kirana startups. These companies help neighbourhood stores buy goods from suppliers, but the sector looked like it was finished. Reliance had walked away. Amazon scaled back. Quick commerce apps were delivering goods so fast that many wondered if kiranas would survive at all.

But this week Jumbotail became India’s youngest unicorn after it raised $120 million in a round led by Standard Chartered Ventures. As part of the deal, Standard Chartered’s B2B ecommerce venture Solv will merge with Jumbotail. Last month, Udaan pulled in $114 million from existing investors at a steady $1.8 billion valuation. 

Weeks later, The Arc reported that Udaan is in talks to acquire InfoEdge-backed ShopKirana—another signal that the space is heating up again. People aware of the discussions confirmed the development to The CapTable.