Highlights:
• Purplle is the 102nd unicorn in India, a company valued at $1 billion or more
• The latest round of funding valued the company at $1.1 billion
Online beauty products marketplace backed by Sequoia Capital Purplle, a Mumbai-based startup, has joined the coveted unicorn club after raising $33 million in a Series E funding round led by South Korea’s Paramark Ventures.
Overview
The company said in a statement on June 9 that existing investors Premji Invest, Blume Ventures, and homegrown private equity firm Kedaara Capital also participated in the funding round. Purplle said the firm has raised $215 million in equity funding to date, including this latest round.
Manish Taneja, the company’s co-founder and CEO, stated that the new funds will be used to invest in technology and expand further into India. According to Taneja, Purplle will also scale its private brands and industry-first innovations.
Purplle is the 102nd unicorn in India, a company valued at $1 billion or more. The most recent round valued the company at $1.1 billion. Purplle joins edtech company PhysicsWallah, which raised $100 million in a funding round earlier this week, as the second startup to join the unicorn club in June, breaking a unicorn drought with two unicorns in a week compared to just one in May.
Purplle is a beauty and personal care e-commerce platform founded by IIT Delhi alumnus Taneja and IIT Kharagpur and IIM Ahmedabad alumnus Rahul Dash in 2012. Goldman Sachs, JSW Ventures, Blume Ventures, Kedaara Capital, and billionaire Azim Premji’s Premji Invest are among the company’s backers.
In October of last year, the online personal care products company raised $75 million in a funding round led by Kedaara Capital. Purplle also raised $65 million from Premji Invest as part of its Series D funding round, bringing the total Series D fundraise to $140 million.
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