NEW DELHI, Nov 16, Reuters -- India - Mensa Brands, an acquirer of fashion, home and personal care labels, has raised $135 million in a Series B funding round that helped the startup hit unicorn status in just six months after starting operations.
The U.S. alternative asset manager, Falcon Edge Capital, led the fundraising, adding that existing investors, Accel Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and Tiger Global Management also participated in the round.
In the latest round, Prosus Ventures, spun out of South Africa's Naspers, also invested in the Bengaluru-based firm.
Ananth Narayanan, who founded Mensa in May, told Reuters the company now has a billion dollar valuation. Mensa has acquired majority stakes in independent brands, aiming to help them scale up using technology such as data analytics and machine learning.
Narayanan, a former CEO at Walmart's Indian online fashion unit Myntra, told Reuters that they're trying to find brands that are not only from India but can also be taken global.
The firm has a portfolio of more than a dozen brands that sell on online stores including Amazon, Walmart's Flipkart and Reliance's Ajio.
Narayanan said that Mensa is already profitable and that it will use the new funds to invest in technology and increase the number of brands in its portfolio to around 40 by the end of 2023.
Mensa's brands are available in the United States, the UK and Germany and are sold via brick and mortar partner stores. Narayanan wants to expand in Europe, the Middle East and some regions of South East Asia.
The company has about 60 core employees and plans to increase that to around 200 in a year's time.