GIVA to raise $53 Mn led by Creaegis at $465 Mn valuation

Omnichannel jewelry startup Giva is set to raise Rs 450 crore or $53 million in its Series C round led by Creaegis with the participation from Premji Invest, Epiq Capital, and others.

The board at Giva passed a resolution to issue 1,73,430 Series C CCPS at an issue price of Rs 25,947 each to raise the aforementioned amount, its regulatory filing accessed from the Registrar of Companies (RoC) shows.

Creaegis through the CIF II Scheme will lead the round with Rs 235 crore or $27.6 million, followed by Premji Invest, which will invest Rs 125 crore ($14.7 million). 

Epiq Capital and Edelweiss Discovery Fund will be injecting Rs 45 crore and Rs 35 crore, respectively, and the remaining Rs 10 crore will be invested by Usha Dalmia Trust.

The company will use the proceeds to cover operational costs, including hiring, marketing, general corporate purposes, and other expenses as outlined in the business plan, as per the filing.

Apart from equity capital, Giva also raised Rs 30 crore in debt from Alteria Capital, a separate filing shows. The company has also increased its ESOP pool by 15,853 equity shares worth Rs 41 crore, taking the total pool value to Rs 203 crore ($24 million).

According to Entrackr’s estimates, the company’s valuation will stand at around Rs 3,950 crore ($465 million), marking a 2X increase from the previous funding round of Rs 255 crore.

Founded in 2019, Giva originally launched as an affordable jewelry brand, has expanded into gold jewelry and lab-grown diamonds. Led by Ishendra Agarwal, the company now operates around 150 physical stores across India, alongside its website and app, and has adopted a franchise-led model to further expand its reach.

According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, the Bengaluru-based company has raised over $85 million to date. Prior to this round, founder Ishendra Aggarwal held a 25.10% stake, while PremjiInvest owned 17.13%, India Quotient 13.38%, and A91 Partners 9.58%.

For the fiscal year ended March 2024, the jewelry brand’s operating revenue grew 66% to Rs 274 crore from Rs 165 crore in FY23. However, its losses grew over 30% to Rs 59 crore during the same period.

Giva competes with several notable players, including Bluestone, which filed its DRHP for Rs 1,000 crore IPO, CaratLane, Melorra, and a range of other funded and family-led physical and omnichannel brands.