Binny Bansal Explores More Investments in Ankit Nagori's Curefoods
Binny Bansal, a Co-founder of Flipkart, is said to be planning an investment of $25-30 million in Curefoods, a startup led by his former associate Ankit Nagori. Curefoods specializes in cloud kitchens and restaurant operations. This new investment will raise Bansal's total involvement in the company to around $50 million. After his full departure from Flipkart in August, Bansal has been actively expanding his personal investments, which include significant contributions to startups like PhonePe and Curefoods.
Reports indicate that Binny Bansal is set to intensify his support for Curefoods, aligning with his investment strategy of backing startups with significant stakes. In April, Curefoods conducted a fundraising round, securing Rs 240 crore in primary and secondary investments from Bansal's Three State Ventures, increasing his ownership in the company to approximately 12%. It remains unclear whether Bansal's latest investment will involve other participants in a funding round or if it will primarily involve a secondary share sale.
Furthermore, Bansal's deepening involvement with Curefoods signifies a strengthening partnership between the two entrepreneurs. Notably, Bansal has also confirmed plans to acquire a 10% stake in the Bengaluru franchise of the volleyball team in the Prime Volleyball League (PVL), where Ankit Nagori holds the majority stake. This sports-related investment was previously reported in May. Binny Bansal has been actively engaging with various startup founders to explore potential investments, with Rajnish Baweja playing a crucial role as an executive at Three State Ventures in evaluating investment proposals.
In August, Binny Bansal realized substantial gains from a secondary share sale when Accel and Tiger Global also divested their remaining shares to Walmart, Flipkart's parent company. Following this transaction, Walmart's ownership in Flipkart exceeded 80%. Bansal's stake in Flipkart had previously diminished over the years. In 2021, he sold a portion of his stake to Tencent, leaving him with less than 2% ownership. On another note, Curefoods recently announced the completion of its acquisition of Yumlane, a food-tech company specializing in pizza technology. While financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, this acquisition will allow Yumlane to leverage Curefoods' network to enhance its proprietary pizza technology and expand its operations.
Curefoods had previously invested in Yumlane, alongside Orios Venture Partners and angel investors such as Binny Bansal and Anupam Mittal, the founder of Shaadi.com. In 2021, Curefoods acquired the franchisee rights for the South India market and secured a 10% stake in Yumlane in 2022. Curefoods boasts a diverse portfolio of brands, including EatFit, CakeZone, Nomad Pizza, Sharief Bhai Biryani, and Frozen Bottle. The company operates over 200 cloud kitchens and physical stores across 15 cities in India. On the other hand, Mumbai-based Yumlane has a distribution network spanning 15 cities and serves brands like Barbeque Nation, Frozen Bottle, and Curefoods.
