New Delhi: E-commerce major Snapdeal has acquired Hyderabad-based mobile technology startup, MartMobi for an undisclosed amount, a move that will help the firm strengthen its mobility platform for merchant partners. Founded by Pramod Nair and Satya Krishna Ganni, MartMobi creates mobile sites and apps for e-commerce stores, small and medium-sized businesses. "We are focusing on mobile platform as about 75 per cent of orders are coming from mobiles-based devices. On the merchant side too, we are witnessing similar trends. The MartMobi team is a great addition as it will help strengthen the platform for sellers," saidSnapdeal co-founder and COO Rohit Bansal.
He, however, declined to comment on the deal size. With over 150 clients, MartMobi enables seamless connectivity with the customers' existing back-end systems in addition to a real-time analytics engine to improve conversions and user engagement. Currently, it has a 15 member team. Asked if MartMobi will continue to work as a separate entity, Bansal said: "We are still working on the roadmap ahead. But their expertise will definitely be integrated with our platform." Snapdeal has been on an acquisition spree, beefing up its presence as it takes on players like Flipkart and Amazon in the burgeoning USD 3 billion Indian e-commerce industry. This year alone, Snapdeal acquired payments and mobile recharge startup Freecharge in a cash-and-stock deal (estimated at USD 400-450 million) as well as picked up stakes in digital financial services platform RupeePower and logistics venture GoJavas.
Founded in 2010, Snapdeal has over 40 million registered users and around 1.5 lakh business sellers. The e-commerce firm, which raised about USD 1 billion last year, including USD 627 million from Japan's SoftBank, has been scouting for acquisitions in mobile technology and supply chain space. Snapdeal co-founder Kunal Bahl has, in the past, indicated that the target companies would be across sizes, ranging from less than USD 1 million (about Rs 6.4 crore) to USD 100 million. Snapdeal counts eBay, Temasek, Myriad, Tybourne, Blackrock and Premji Invest among its investors. Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata also made an investment in the company.
