Mensa Brands raises USD 135 million in funding, bags unicorn status

To date, the company has partnered with 12 brands, majority of which are growing at 100 per cent year-on-year since their integration with Mensa.

Written by PTI

November 16, 2021 18:10 IST

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Within six months of starting the business, Mensa has raised a total of over USD 300 million in equity and debt.

Mensa Brands on Tuesday said it has raised USD 135 million (about Rs 1,004 crore) in funding led by Alpha Wave Ventures, valuating the company at over a billion dollars. The Series-B round saw participation from Prosus Ventures (Naspers) and all existing investors — Accel Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and Tiger Global Management. Within six months of starting the business, Mensa has raised a total of over USD 300 million in equity and debt. In May, Mensa Brands had announced raising about USD 50 million (about Rs 363 crore) in funding, along with debt financing facilities from Alteria Capital and InnoVen Capital.

“Mensa is already profitable and intends to use the funding to continue partnering with founding teams of customer-loved brands and help them become household names. In addition, it’ll invest in hiring across functions and continue building out its tech platform and other growth capabilities,” a statement said on Tuesday. Mensa had started its journey in May this year with a vision to partner and invest in digital-first brands across fashion and apparel, home and garden, beauty and personal care and food and scale them exponentially. It works closely with founding teams to accelerate growth on marketplaces, through the brand’s own websites, and global platforms by using a combination of initiatives across product, pricing, marketing, distribution, and brand building with a technology platform at the core.

To date, the company has partnered with 12 brands, majority of which are growing at 100 per cent year-on-year since their integration with Mensa. Its partner brands include Villain, a men’s fragrance and accessories, and high-end designer sarees brand Karagiri. “Our deep focus on technology and digital brand building, as well as our people, has allowed us to grow 3X of our initial plan and we at Mensa Brands are primed to build global breakout brands from India. “I am especially proud that more than 50 per cent of our brands are led by women founders and that Mensa supports small- and medium-sized businesses across the country,” Mensa Brands founder and CEO Ananth Narayanan said.

This article was first uploaded on November sixteen, twenty twenty-one, at ten minutes past six in the evening.