High-profile investors are doubling down on their investments in India's social commerce future. DealShare announced on Thursday that it has raised $144 million in a fresh financing round as it seeks to extend its presence in the South Asian market and pursue worldwide opportunities.

Tiger Global led the new Series D fundraising round, which valued the Indian business at $455 million (post-money), up from a pre-money valuation of $50 million in the Series C round. According to TechCrunch, the New York-based hedge fund was in talks to lead a major round in the Bangalore-based business in April.

The fresh round also included participation from WestBridge Capital, Alpha Wave Incubation (a venture funded by ADQ and managed by Falcon Edge Capital), Z3Partners, Partners of DST Global, and Alteria Capital, bringing the startup's total funding to $183 million.

Even while Amazon and Flipkart have established a sizable market in Indian cities, much of the country remains underserved. (Fun fact: DealShare was founded on the day Walmart purchased Flipkart.)

DealShare, which started as a WhatsApp-based e-commerce site with hundreds of products, is now seeking to reach consumers in smaller Indian cities and villages. Customers on the startup's platform buy curated things in groups, according to the company, making purchases "extremely competitive" in terms of price.

The startup, which competes with Meesho, which is backed by SoftBank and Prosus Ventures, claims to provide “high-quality, low-cost essentials coupled with a gamified, fun, and virality-driven vernacular shopping experience that makes it easy for first-time internet users to experience the online shopping,” according to its executives.

They claim that community purchasing allows for an "ultra-low-cost delivery method" and "best-in-class unit economics." DealShare has a network of over 1000 micro-entrepreneurs who help it spread the community group buying model across the country.

“By the end of the year, we hope to have expanded our network to 5000+ members. In addition, we intend to fuel growth by constructing state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure-related assets that will assure efficiency,” stated Sankar Bora, DealShare's Founder and Chief Operation Officer.

(Source: TechCrunch)

(Image Credits: DealShare)