The archive · Commerce & Marketplaces · Strategic decision · 2016-2026
ElasticRun's kirana-commerce bet: SoftBank unicorn at $1.5B, FY25 loss cut 60%
ElasticRun bet crowdsourced logistics could make FMCG brands reach 10M rural kiranas: $330M SoftBank round, ₹2,653 Cr FY25 revenue, loss narrowed 60%.
ElasticRun
What the business is
A B2B commerce and logistics platform: ElasticRun procures FMCG goods, routes them through crowdsourced delivery partners, and sells to mom-and-pop kirana stores across rural and semi-urban India.
Starting capital：Over $430M raised, including a $330M Series E led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Goldman Sachs at about $1.5B in February 2022 (TechCrunch, Inc42), after a $75M Series D at $400M in April 2021.
How it started
Sandeep Deshmukh, the ex-Amazon India executive who built its 'I Have Space' crowdsourced delivery channel, founded ElasticRun in 2016 with Shitiz Bansal and Saurabh Nigam, both ex-EdgeVerve. Their bet: rural India's mom-and-pop stores were the true retail channel, and brands would pay for an elastic distribution network to reach them.
What happened
ElasticRun scaled to 125,000+ retail outlets across 300+ cities and 100+ brands by April 2021, then raised $75M Series D at $400M (2021) and $330M Series E at about $1.5B in February 2022, becoming India's fifth unicorn of 2022 with SoftBank leading. Revenue reached ₹2,653 Cr in FY25 (+8% YoY), while employee costs fell 17% and the net loss narrowed 60% to ₹145.1 Cr.
How it ended up
Still running and scaling: co-founder and CEO Deshmukh told Inc42 that FY25 was the company's best year operationally and that it is close to operational profitability, though it is still prioritizing growth over EBITDA.
Background
ElasticRun is a Pune-based B2B commerce and logistics platform founded in 2016 by Sandeep Deshmukh, Shitiz Bansal and Saurabh Nigam. Its bet was that India's roughly 12 million mom-and-pop kirana stores - about 10 million of them rural - are the country's real retail channel, and that a crowdsourced, asset-light distribution network could act as FMCG brands' extended arm into that market.
The model worked at scale: by April 2021 ElasticRun was serving 125,000+ retail outlets across 300+ cities with 100+ brands, and raised a $75M Series D at $400M. In February 2022 SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Goldman Sachs led a $330M Series E at about $1.5B, making it India's fifth unicorn of 2022, with Amazon, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Reliance Retail among the brands using its network.
Scale did not immediately mean profit. In FY25 ElasticRun reported operating revenue of ₹2,653 Cr, up 8%, but cut its net loss 60% to ₹145.1 Cr by holding expenses flat - employee costs fell 17% - while improving product mix toward higher-margin service revenue and private labels.
As of December 2025 the company says it is close to operational profitability but deliberately not EBITDA-profitable yet because it is still funding growth. The open question is whether a distribution network built on thin trade margins can sustain profitability while competing with Udaan, Meesho and DealShare for the same kirana market.
What has to be true
- The crowdsourced, asset-light model let ElasticRun scale to hundreds of thousands of stores without owning trucks or warehouses.
- SoftBank's $330M Series E at $1.5B in 2022 validated kirana distribution as a venture-scale market.
- The FY25 result shows a B2B network can improve margins through mix and cost discipline even while revenue growth slows.
- ElasticRun monetizes the network in multiple ways - trade, logistics, credit and data - rather than relying on a single fee.
What can be applied
Asset-light crowdsourcing lets a B2B network scale fast, but margin - not GMV - is what makes it durable; ElasticRun's FY25 loss cut came from cost discipline, not new revenue.
Aftermath
As of December 2025 ElasticRun is still growth-focused: FY25 operating revenue was ₹2,653 Cr (+8% YoY) and the net loss narrowed 60% to ₹145.1 Cr, with employee costs down 17% and total expenses flat. CEO Deshmukh called FY25 its best year operationally and said it is close to operational profitability, though not EBITDA-profitable yet because it is still investing in growth. Its network spans hundreds of thousands of kiranas across hundreds of Indian cities, serving FMCG brands including HUL, ITC, P&G, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Reliance Retail, and competing with Udaan, Meesho and DealShare.
Sources
- ElasticRun Narrows FY25 Loss By 60% to INR 145 Cr
- SoftBank, Goldman Sachs mint unicorn in Indian commerce startup ElasticRun
- Exclusive: ElasticRun Turns Unicorn With $330 Mn Funding From SoftBank
- Indian kirana commerce startup ElasticRun raises USD 75 million from existing backers
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