Google’s latest investment in India is a startup helping businesses come online. On Friday, one-year-old DotPe, a Gurgaon-based startup, said it had raised $27.5 million in its Series A financing round. The round was led by PayU, with participation from existing investors Info Edge Ventures and Google.
It’s a problem that scores of startups in India are solving today, but DotPe has some additional hooks. The young startup, now valued at about $90 million, helps brick-and-mortar stores sell to customers online and collect payments digitally. It helps merchants scan their inventories and quickly establish a log online.
Once the catalog is ready, a business can make it available on WhatsApp and reach customers there. WhatsApp is India’s most popular smartphone app, with more than 450 million users. Dottie says it also helps businesses get visibility on Google Search.
The startup, co-founded by Shailaz Nag, formerly co-founder and managing director of PayU, also enables neighborhood stores to collect payments from walk-in customers and features tools to offer loyalty points and discounts to customers to boost engagement.
“This new partnership will empower businesses to be more discoverable, expand business avenues, and conduct commerce like never before,” said Nag. “Pandemic or not, we are here to reimagine the way offline businesses work and bring the digital revolution to the doorstep of every entrepreneur.”
Dottie says its platform, which doesn’t require businesses to install an app, has amassed over 5 million merchants in the last six months. The startup said these merchants see over 38% of daily orders from repeat customers. “In a short time, DotPe has acquired a promising merchant base with its impeccable product experience and innovation,” said Anirban Mukherjee, CEO of PayU India.
Sanjay Gupta, VP and Country Head of Google India, said that the company’s investment in DotPe illustrates Google’s belief in “working with India’s startup ecosystem towards the goal of building a more inclusive digital economy that will benefit everyone.”
Google announced a $10 billion fund for India last year, its biggest user market. Dottie said it would deploy the fresh capital to reach more merchants in India and scale its technology stack to meet the growing demand. The Android maker has invested in several startups in the country, including hyperlocal delivery firm Dunzo, InMobi Group’s Glance, and DailyHunt.
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