In the latest funding round, Flipkart raised $350 million from Google

Bengaluru: Flipkart on Friday said it will add Alphabet Inc’s Google as a minority investor in its latest funding round led by Walmart, the majority shareholder of the e-commerce player.

While Flipkart did not provide details on the size of Google’s investment in its official statement, highly placed sources said that DH that it is approximately USD 350 million. The latest round of financing aims to raise $1 billion.

“Walmart alone pumped in about $600 million,” one source said. According to data collected by Walmart, Flipkart is valued at over $36 billion in 2023 after the latest round of financing. DH.

“Google’s proposed investment and cloud collaboration will help Flipkart expand its business and accelerate digital infrastructure modernization to serve customers across the country,” the company said.

Flipkart did not share any further details related to the intended fundraising target or timeline, stating that the investment is subject to regulatory and other approvals customary by both parties.

This latest round of funding was announced days before the major electronics company is scheduled to launch a fast trading service in select locations across India, details of which were reported by the website DH earlier this year in March.

According to wealth management firm Bernstein, the funds raised through this exercise are likely to further strengthen Flipkart’s position in the Indian e-commerce market, where it holds a leading 48% share.

US retail giant Walmart acquired 77% controlling stake in Flipkart in a 2018 deal worth $16 billion and is currently the largest shareholder of the e-commerce player with over 80% stake.

The Bengaluru-based online retailer competes with the likes of Amazon.com, Reliance Retail and SoftBank-backed Meesho in India’s e-commerce market, which Bernstein estimates to be worth $133 billion by next year.

Internet giant Google in 2020 announced an investment of around $10 billion in India’s digital landscape over 5-7 years.