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Lightbox Exits Dunzo Board Amid Ongoing Financial Challenges

• ByStartupStory     |    May 22, 2024

Dunzo, the quick commerce and on-demand delivery platform backed by Reliance Retail, has seen the exit of investor Lightbox from its board of directors. This marks the departure of Dunzo’s third-largest investor, which held an 11.1% stake in the company. Lightbox’s exit follows those of major stakeholders Reliance Retail and Google, who left the board last year.

Siddharth Talwar, Co-founder and Partner at Lightbox, represented the firm on Dunzo’s cap table until his departure from the venture capital firm in March 2024. Despite his exit, Lightbox has not appointed a replacement to represent them on Dunzo’s board.

Reliance Retail, which currently holds a 27.6% stake in Dunzo, and Google, with a 19.3% stake, both vacated their board positions in August 2023. Ashwin Khasgiwala and Rajendra Kamath of Reliance Retail, and Vaidehi Ravindran of Lightrock also left their board positions around the same time. Additionally, Dunzo’s co-founders Dalvir Suri and Mukund Jha exited the company and the board.

Kabir Biswas, Founder and CEO of Dunzo, and Hong Jin Kim, Managing Director of STIC Investments, are the remaining members on the board, according to data from market research platform Tracxn.

Founded in 2014, Dunzo was an early entrant in the hyperlocal delivery and quick commerce market. Despite its initial success, the company has faced significant challenges in raising follow-on funding. Recent filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs reveal that Dunzo has delayed payments of over ₹40 crore to more than 100 vendors, including related entities, citing insufficient funds. The company, which has raised nearly $449 million across multiple equity rounds, was valued at $744 million during its last funding round in April 2023, according to Tracxn.

In addition to vendor payment delays, Dunzo has postponed employee salary payments and implemented major cost-cutting measures over the past year in an attempt to manage its financial difficulties.

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