GrubMarket, a US-based food supply chain operator backed by conglomerate Fosun, has secured $32m in a funding round led by venture capital firm GGV Capital, TechCrunch has reported.
Fusion Fund, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Max Ventures, Castor Ventures, Bascom Ventures, Millennium Technology Value Partner, Trinity Capital Investment and Investwide Capital also took part in the round.
GrubMarket makes connections to farmers, sourcing fresh organic and healthy produce it then supplies to businesses and consumers at a hefty discount compared to grocers.
The company will put the funding toward acquisitions, such as the purchase of produce supplier So Cal Farm Network last month.
Mike Xu, GrubMarket’s founder and CEO, told TechCrunch: “We are looking to buy companies to make more revenues ahead of an upcoming IPO,” adding that the company intends to file for an initial public offering in late 2018 or early 2019.
GrubMarket is already profitable and has a $100m run rate for 2018, Xu added. It is also in the process of expanding from California to markets along the east coast of the US beginning with New York and New Jersey.
The round took GrubMarket’s total funding to $64m and comes after a $20m series B round in 2016 that included Fosun, GGV, Sound Ventures, Danhua Capital, Global Founders Capital, Riverhead Capital and angel investors Fabrice Grinda and Gang Wang.
Fosun had led the company’s $10m series A round the year before, participating alongside GGV, Y Combinator, Battery Ventures and AME Cloud Ventures.