FirstClub doubles valuation to $255M in 9 months on premium quick-commerce grocery bet

Indian startup FirstClub has raised $55 million in a Series B round co-led by Peak XV Partners and Sofina. The investment values the company at $255 million, up from $120 million nine months earlier when it last raised capital. Existing investors Accel, RTP Global and Paramark Ventures participated, bringing total funding to $86 million. The Bengaluru-based company was founded in 2024 by former Flipkart executive Ayyappan R. It operates a curated online grocery platform with around 4,000 products and conducts quality checks on fresh produce and lab tests on certain staples. Ayyappan said people do not need a very large selection but the right quality selection consistently delivered every single time. More than 60 percent of FirstClub customers are women-led households. The startup has crossed 1 million orders and 170,000 households in its first year in Bengaluru. It runs at an annualized gross market value of about $50 million, with more than four orders per month on average and spending of roughly 1,200 rupees, or about $13, per order. FirstClub operates 21 stores in Bengaluru and three in Hyderabad. It plans to expand beyond Bengaluru into home and kitchen products, gifting and other household essentials while employing about 220 people directly. Peak XV managing director GV Ravishankar said India is seeing affluent, health-conscious consumers willing to pay for higher-quality products. He noted there will be consumers who gravitate toward a better-quality platform serving trustworthy products.