An emerging e-commerce brand, Mensa Brands, led by Ananth Narayanan, former CEO of Myntra, has raised a series B funding of $135 million. This funding was led by Alpha Wave Ventures, which is a part of Falcon edge, a United States investment Fund.
Existing investors of the brand, like Accel Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and Tiger Global Management were also a part of the funding. Along with the existing ones, Prosus Ventures has entered as the new investor on board. This round of funding has gotten the company to enter the unicorn club, within just six months of its establishment. Started in May 2021, Mensa Brands, now valued at over $1 billion, is a brand aggregator and roll-up firm and the youngest startup to enter the unicorn club.
The business model of the firm is based on the US-based Thras.io, which acquired small brands and merchants listed on the Amazon marketplace. Thras.io is now valued at $5 billion and has over 100 third-party sellers in its kitty.
Mensa Brands, the Bengaluru-based start-up acquires a majority stake of around 51-75% in digital-first brands across beauty, personal care, fashion, home décor and furnishings, and helps scale them up. It has already acquired around a dozen brands like Priyaasi, Dennis Lingo, Hubberholme, Helea, Anubhutee, etc. and is working on acquiring around 20 more.
According to Anant, India doesn’t really have many brands and it is good that more people are getting involved in building newer brands. According to him, almost all brands are growing at 100% year on year since teaming up with Mensa.
The firm plans to use the funds to expand its existing portfolio, invest in hiring across functions, and also build its technology platforms and other growth areas.
