Licious raises $52 million turns unicorn at $1 billion valuation

Online meat delivery company Licious said on October 5 it raised $52 million in a round led by IIFL AMC's late-stage tech fund at a valuation of a billion dollars, making it one of the first unicorns in India's thriving direct-to-consumer (D2C) space.

Licious is now the 29th unicorn to emerge out of India in 2021 amid an unprecedented funding boom. "Even though the funding for D2C sector has grown significantly, FMCG is still not considered the most attractive category. We expect that Licious' Unicorn status will change that. The fresh meats and seafood sector is still largely underserved and unorganised that holds a vast opportunity of $40 billion," Licious cofounders Vivek Gupta and Abhay Hanjura said in a statement.

"We will continue to build the category through investments in technology for supply chain excellence, product innovation, talent, and vendor partner upgrades."

The Bengaluru-based startup said it would work towards building a sustainable, responsible business that would reimagine the animal protein category in India through a mix of global influence and products curated for the Indian palate.