Facebook-backed Meesho raises $300 million from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 – valuation jumps to over $2 billion

• Meesho is a marketplace for resellers, and connects them with customers via social media channels like WhatsApp and Facebook.
• While SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led the round, it also saw participation from Meesho’s existing investors Prosus Ventures, Facebook, Shunwei Capital, Venture Highway and Knollwood Investment.
• The social commerce platform will be hiring across verticals — technology, product, and business, among others.

Social commerce platform Meesho, which was the first Indian startup in which Facebook picked up an equity stake, has raised $300 million from SoftBank Vision Fund 2. With the funding, Meesho is the latest unicorn in India with a valuation of $2.1 billion.

The round also saw participation from Meesho’s existing investors Prosus Ventures, Facebook, Shunwei Capital, Venture Highway and Knollwood Investment.

Meesho is a marketplace for resellers and connects them with customers via social media channels like WhatsApp and Facebook. In the last one year, Meesho claims to have helped 13 million entrepreneurs through its platform.

“We are focused on expanding our vision — from helping aspiring women entrepreneurs to creating Meesho as a single ecosystem that will enable all small businesses in India to succeed online. In the last one year, we have seen tremendous growth across small businesses and entrepreneurs seeking to move their businesses online. And with our new vision we will enable 100 million small businesses to start, succeed and lead their operations online with Meesho as their partner in their journey,” said Vidit Aatrey, founder and chief executive officer of Meesho in a statement.

With the latest funds, the social commerce platform will be hiring across verticals — technology, product, and business, among others.

“By using the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning, Meesho has created a platform for many small business owners to sell to the next cohort of internet users,” said Munish Varma, managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers in a statement.

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