Japan Post Capital returned to participate in the fresh produce delivery service’s latest close at a $1.2bn valuation, after two series E tranches disclosed recently.

US-based online grocer app operator GrubMarket received $145m yesterday in a series E round that included Japan Post Capital, a corporate venturing vehicle for postal services firm Japan Post. Tiger Global Management, funds and accounts advised by BlackRock, Liberty Street Funds, Apeira Capital, Celtic House Asia Partners, We Capital and Walleye Capital also took part in the round, as did unnamed other investors. It valued the company at above $1.2bn. Founded in 2014, GrubMarket has built a mobile marketplace that enables users to buy fresh produce directly from suppliers such as farmers. The company already announced a series E round sized at $145m valuing it at over $1bn last month that also featured Japan Post Capital, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Walleye Capital, Liberty Street Funds, INP Capital, Pegasus Tech Ventures, Celtic House Asia Partners, Gaingels, RIVC and unnamed others. It came after the announcement of a $120m series E round in September this year from the same backers except for BlackRock, and additionally included Joseph Stone Capital, Moringa Capital Management and Tech Pioneers Fund. Marubeni Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of conglomerate Marubeni, participated in a $90m series D round in February 2021, investing alongside BlackRock, Ace & Company, GGV Capital, Celtic House Venture Partners, Reimagined Ventures, Sixty Degree Capital, Trinity Capital Investment, Madison Bay Capital Partners and The Strand Partners. Marubeni Ventures had already joined internet company Digital Garage, WI Harper Group, CentreGold Capital, Scrum Ventures, BlackRock, Sixty Degree Capital, Mojo Partners, Reimagined Ventures, Trinity Capital Investments, Celtic House Venture Partners and GGV Capital in a $60m first close of the series D round four months before. Digital Garage and WI Harper had co-led a $28.2m series C1 round for GrubMarket in 2019 that also featured packaged food provider Kraft Heinz’s Evolv Ventures unit and conglomerates Fosun and Arancia Industrial. CentreGold Capital, Ace & Company, GGV Capital, Bascom Ventures and Future Fund also took part in the series C1 round together with unnamed additional participants. The company’s $32m round in 2018 was led by GGV and included Great Oaks Venture Capital, Fusion Fund, Max Ventures, Bascom Ventures, Castor Ventures, Trinity Capital Investment, Investwide Capital and Millenium Technology Value Partners. Fosun had contributed to GrubMarket’s $20m series B round two years before, investing together with Sound Ventures, Global Founders Capital, GGV, Danhua Capital, Riverhead Capital, Gang Wang and Fabrice Grinda. Fosun had led a $10m series A round for GrubMarket in September 2015 and was joined by Battery…

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Edison Fu

Edison Fu is a reporter and Asia liaison at Global Corporate Venturing.