Quick food delivery startup Swish in funding talks with Bertelsmann India Investments months after...

Quick food delivery startup Swish in funding talks with Bertelsmann India Investments months after previous raise

Swish, the startup behind a 10-15 minute food delivery service in parts of Bengaluru and Gurugram, has returned to the fundraising market just two months after closing a $38 million round, underscoring investor appetite for the rapid delivery segment, people familiar with the matter told Moneycontrol.

"Swish has reached advanced discussions to raise about $20 million (Rs 190 crore) from Bertelsmann India Investments (BII) and other investors as part of a broader funding round that the company intends to expand over time," one of the people familiar with the matter said.

The platform offers a mix of snacks and full meals, with chai, poha and samosas among its best-selling items.

"It is still early days, but if the current discussions progress as expected, Swish could raise around $40-50 million. That said, the company may choose to close the round at a lower amount depending on how the process evolves," the second person said.

Bengaluru-based Swish is being valued at around $150-200 million pre- money during ongoing negotiations.

Swish and BII did not reply to Moneycontrol’s queries.

This will be BII's second quick commerce bet in under a year after backing quick services startup Snabbit in a $30 million round in October 2025.

Since its inception in 2024, Swish's fundraising journey has seen several twists and turns. While the company attracted marquee investor Accel to lead its $2 million seed round in October 2024, its $14 million Series A round in March 2025 took longer to come together before UK-based Hara Global agreed to lead the financing, with Accel also participating.

A partner at a large global venture capital fund that evaluated Swish but ultimately passed on the opportunity said the firm's biggest concern was differentiation. "We failed to understand what Swish's moat is. Blinkit has Bistro, Swiggy is scaling Snacc, and Zepto is investing in Zepto Cafe – the competition is intense," the investor told Moneycontrol in mid-2025.

About a year later, Swish's fortunes had changed. In March 2026, the startup raised $38 million in a Series B round led by existing investor Hara Global, with Bain Capital coming on board as a new investor and Accel doubling down on its bet. The financing, which also included a venture debt component, doubled Swish's valuation to $140 million.

When Moneycontrol caught up with the same investor, cited above, about eight months later, the tone had shifted markedly. "We have tracked Swish ever since we passed – the turnaround has really impressed us. The team's execution has improved dramatically and the scale is looking impressive," the partner said. The investor still does not hold a stake in Swish, nor are they evaluating a purchase during the ongoing round.

A combination of stronger execution and a less frenetic competitive environment has helped Swish gain momentum, sources said. Since its Series A round in 2025, Swiggy has shuttered Snacc, Zepto has reworked its Cafe strategy and Blinkit has flagged sizeable losses at Bistro, reducing some of the intensity in the rapid food delivery market.

The gains are beginning to show in Swish's operating metrics. The startup is now clocking an annualised revenue run rate (ARR) of more than Rs 165 crore, with an average order value of Rs 220 and over 630,000 monthly orders, people familiar with the developments told Moneycontrol.

While Swish is still at an early stage, the numbers offer some perspective. India's largest food delivery platform, Zomato, is estimated by analysts to process around 2.5 million orders daily with an average order value of around Rs 500. The company, however, does not separately disclose these metrics as part of its quarterly earnings.

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