Groupon India is now Nearbuy

Backed by Sequoia India, the venture will focus on mobile-based local commerce.

Coupon and deals platform Groupon India has been rebranded as Nearbuy, after the venture received funding from Sequoia India. The company will now function as an independent entrepreneurial entity, while still continuing to have Groupon as a large shareholder.

US based e-commerce portal Groupon.com entered India in 2011.

A statement from the company says that with the increasing penetration of mobiles and growth in mobile internet usage, Nearbuy aims to lead the confluence of local commerce across existing segments such as F&B, Travel, Wellness as well as new local services such as home and auto services, online food ordering, movies and in-store shopping.

Nearbuy's leadership team will comprise six co-founders - Ankur Warikoo, CEO; Sumeet Kapur, CFO; Snehesh Mitra, CTO; Sachin Kapur, CMO; Ankur Sarawagi, CBO (Travel & Products) and Ravi Shankar, CBO (Local Commerce).

"The local commerce market in India is growing at a never-seen-before pace and mobile penetration is facilitating that. Add to that Groupon's Global support and we become a truly local player with global expertise and technology," says Ankur Warikoo, CEO and founder, Nearbuy.

"Under the continued leadership of Ankur Warikoo, Nearbuy is well positioned to lead the dynamic Indian local commerce market," notes Eric Lefkofsky, CEO and co-founder of Groupon. "As a continued shareholder in the business, Groupon looks forward to seeing Nearbuy achieve its vision to become the leading local commerce company in India."

Commenting on the announcement, Mohit Bhatnagar, managing director, Sequoia Capital India Advisors, states, "Tens of thousands of service and retail establishments across India have a new friend in Nearbuy. This mobile-first platform will cause more consumers to walk into their stores, spas, hotels, movie halls and help them sell more products and services. The unique Nearbuy platform is all about hyper-local discovery, discounts and frictionless payments."

Sequoia India has backed Amit Jain and Anurag Jain of Cardekho, Jaspreet Singh of Druva, VSS Mani of Just Dial, Alan Mamedi and Nami Zarringhalam of Truecaller, Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah of Zomato, among others.