Thrasio-style startup Powerhouse91 raises fresh funds

Powerhouse91, the tech-driven startup that acquires growing e-commerce brands in India, has raised an undisclosed amount in a new round led by a clutch of marquee global investors.

US-based venture capital firm FJ Labs that focuses on marketplaces and consumer-focused business is one of the incoming investors in the round. Maninder Gulati of Oyo and Haresh Chawla, Partner at True North have also joined the round.

This the third fund raised by Powerhouse91 in 2021. Earlier rounds were raised in February following its seed round in July led by Crossbeam Venture Partners.

Co-founded by Aqib Mohammed, Nikhil Agrawal and Shashwat Diesh, Powerhouse91 identifies high-potential consumer brands, as well as acquires and scales them through growth capital, shared resources, and deep ecommerce-focused optimisations.

Thrasio-style model, the concept is new to the Indian startup ecosystem but has gained traction, attracted eyeballs and led to substantial funding into the companies linked to the model in the past few months.

Two weeks ago, UpScalio had scooped up $42.5 million in its Series A round led by Presight Capital and an undisclosed global hedge fund.