Third Wave Coffee, a quick-service coffee chain headquartered in Bengaluru, has secured $35 million in a Series C funding round, with private equity firm Creaegis taking the lead. Notably, this funding round also witnessed the continued support of previous investors, such as WestBridge Capital and Sujeet Kumar, Co-Founder of Udaan.
In an official statement, the startup expressed its intention to utilize the newly acquired funds to intensify its focus on technology and product innovation. This strategic approach aims to enhance the overall cafe experience it offers throughout the country.
Established in 2017 by Ayush Bathwal, Anirudh Sharma, and Sushant Goel, the startup presently manages a network of more than 100 stores spanning the entire nation. Additionally, it markets its coffee products via both its dedicated website and various e-commerce platforms.
In the announcement, Third Wave Coffee revealed that it secured $21 million in a Series B funding round back in May 2022, with WestBridge Capital as the leading investor. It’s worth noting that the startup did not make the funding round public at that time.
Before this, the company had successfully raised $6 million in its Series A funding round, with prominent investors such as Sujeet Kumar, Arpan Seth, and Ayyappan Rajagopal taking the lead.
Following this recent funding injection, the startup has accumulated a total of $62 million in funding up to this point.
As reported by ET, the startup’s valuation after the most recent funding round is estimated to be $150 million.
Third Wave Coffee faces competition from startups such as Blue Tokai and Slay Coffee, as well as formidable industry giants like Starbucks and Tim Hortons, among others.
At the beginning of this year, Blue Tokai, headquartered in Delhi NCR, secured $30 million in a Series B funding round, with A91 Partners taking the lead. Additionally, just earlier this month, the startup announced that it had also received an undisclosed amount of investment from actor Deepika Padukone.
Read More: Bollywood star Deepika Padukone invests in specialty coffee brand Blue Tokai
In the retail sector, Third Wave faces competition from companies such as Rage Coffee, Sleepy Owl, and Country Bean, among others.
Creaegis, the leading investor in Third Wave Coffee’s recent funding round, recently completed the fundraising for its debut fund, amassing a total of $425 million (INR 3,529 crore) with a focus on investing in domestic startups. Just this Wednesday, SaaS startup Doceree revealed that Creaegis had taken the lead in its Series B funding round, securing $35 million.