Exclusive: Alpha Wave invests in Virgio at over $100 Mn valuation

Fashion platform Virgio has raised a new tranche in its ongoing series A round from Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI). This is the second time the Bengaluru-based company has received funds this year.

The board at Virgio has passed a special resolution to issue 29,204 Optionally Convertible Redeemable Preference Shares (OCRPS) and 98,476 Series A2 CCPS at an issue price of Rs 4657.46 each to raise Rs 59.4 crore or $7.4 million, regulatory filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) shows.

Alpha Wave led the tranche with Rs 39.8 crore while Viko Ventures, Reddy Futures LLP, and AL trust pumped in Rs 3.98 crore, Rs 3.98 crore, and Rs 3.59 crore respectively. Notable individual investors including Saif Ali Khan, Bhavish Aggarwal, Sri Harsha Majety, Kunal Shah, Vidit Atrey, and Mekin Maheshwari collectively put in a further Rs 8.05 crore.

As per Fintrackr’s estimates, the company has been valued at around Rs 820 crore or $102 million (post allotment). It’s worth noting that Virgio had raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Accel India early this year.

The Economics Times had reported about its Series A round in making in January.

Founded by former Myntra chief executive Amar Nagaram in February 2022. Virgio will connect designers and manufacturers to create a fashion ecosystem. According to reports, it’s likely to evangelize the consumer-to-manufacturing model.

At present, the company has a total team size of close to 50, it’s likely to be on the lines of Shein which has become a successful fashion brand in the global markets including the US and the Middle East.

There is a high expectation from Virgio as Nagaram has ample experience in the fashion and e-commerce domain. He had an over decade-long stint at Flipkart and Myntra. Also, Myntra stands out as one of the few rare stories in the space in the past decade where a host of companies including Limeroad, YepMe, Zovi and Voonik tried and failed to create a sizable fashion brand.

With manufacturing in the fashion sector significantly spread out among possibly thousands of small and larger manufacturers, the idea of connecting designers to manufacturers is also much more challenging than it would appear. That makes it one more reason to look out for just what Virgio has in store.