Top industrialist Ratan Tata has invested in pet care portal DogSpot.in, continuing the slew of investments he has made in various startups globally. However, the value of the investment was not disclosed.
"Ratan Tata has invested an undisclosed amount in DogSpot.in. Ronnie Screwala also invested in this round along with a few new and existing investors," DogSpot.in co-founder and CEO Rana Atheya said.
The venture has also received investments from Ronnie Screwvala, who led the previous round along with India Quotient and K Ganesh.
Atheya added that the funds raised will be used to offer a new range of products.
"The investment by Mr Tata is an endorsement of the long held belief by us and our investors that the Indian pet care sector is going through a phase of huge growth and transformation. DogSpot.in is poised to become an agent of this transformation," he said.
DogSpot is an online pet-care shop started in 2014 by Rana Atheya, an electronics engineer from MJP Rohilkhand University and an MBA from Coventry University, UK.
The global pet-care market reached $100-billion mark in 2014, with the US alone accounting for about $58 billion. India is home for four million pet dogs and the Indian pet-care market is valued at over $1.22 billion, growing at over 35 per cent annually.
Ratan Tata has been aggressively investing in startups since his retirement in 2012. His investment ranges from e-commerce firms to cab aggregators. He has invested in firms like Snapdeal, Kaaryah, Urban Ladder, Bluestone, CarDekho, Sabse Technologies, Xiaomi and Ola.
Tata, who served as the Chairman of Tata Sons is also associated with some venture capital funds as advisor, including Kalaari Capital and Jungle Ventures.
Previously, DogSpot.in has received seed funding in 2012 from Aloke Bajpai (Founder, ixigo.com), Vikas Saxena (CEO, Nimbuzz) few others, followed by another round in 2013 by India Quotient (Rs 1 crore). In 2014,
Unilazer (Ronnie Screwvala), India Quotient (Anand Lunia) and K Ganesh (Growth Story) invested in the company. DogSpot.in was advised by Dexter Capital Advisor.
BW Reporters
The author is Senior Correspondent with BW Businessworld
