Vertex, a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, has led a $15m series C investment into Brainbees Solutions, the company that owns the ‘FirstCry.com’ brand, India’s most popular baby and kids focused e-commerce site. IDG Ventures India and SAIF Partners, the existing investors in Brainbees, also participated in the round. Joo Hock Chua from Vertex will join Manik Arora from IDG Ventures and Ravi Adusumalli from SAIF Partners on the board of the company. The latest round brings the company’s reported fundraising to $33m.
Manik Arora, Founder and Managing Director of IDG Ventures India Advisors, said, “Since IDG’s investment, transactions have grown rapidly, strong loyalty metrics are evident, mobile offerings have been launched and 50 franchisee stores are driving offline sales. The company has demonstrated strong traction and we welcome Vertex to help with the next phase of growth.”
Ravi Adusumalli, Managing Partner of SAIF Partners said, “As early investors in Brainbees, we have seen the company go from strength to strength and achieve clear leadership in its vertical. We are excited to have Vertex on board and this round of capital should help the company in strengthening its brand further and expanding its multi-channel offering.”
Brainbees started operations in late 2010 and owns the ‘FirstCry.com’ brand, the #1 e-commerce platform in India for babycare, kids and maternity care. It offers over 70,000 products for moms, babies and kids from more than 500 leading national & international brands. Its product catalogue includes a wide range of consumables such as diapers and toiletries, accessories such as strollers, apparel and footwear as well as books and toys for children up to the age of 15 years.
Brainbees was founded by serial entrepreneurs Supam Maheshwari and Amitava Saha, who previously had a successful exit at Brainvisa Technologies.
According to Joo Hock Chua, Managing Director and CIO of Vertex Venture Management, “We have been highly impressed with FirstCry’s dominance in the online baby and kids market and look forward to leveraging our experience and expertise in hybrid online-offline business models from our investments and direct presence in other growing markets in Asia to help grow the company aggressively. This is a strong and cohesive team that has demonstrated an exceptional track record and we are delighted to partner with them as well as with IDG and SAIF.”
The company raised $14m in 2012 in a series B round of funding led by IDG Ventures India. The company raised $4m in a series A round from SAIF Partners.