Quick-commerce funding shifts toward shared dark stores and fulfilment infrastructure
Indian investors are backing shared dark-store networks, fulfilment technology and last-mile capabilities as vertical quick-commerce players scale. Inamo has raised $8 million to expand beyond 80 stores, while Fairdeal.Market, DocPharma and others build specialised delivery infrastructure.
What happened
Indian quick-commerce investors are increasingly funding shared dark stores, fulfilment technology and last-mile networks. Inamo, Fairdeal.Market and DocPharma
Key facts
- Vertical quick-commerce startups raised about $150 million in 2025, versus $8 million in 2024
- More than 20 companies raised capital in 2025
- Inamo raised $8 million in Series A funding
- Inamo operates 80+ dark stores across six cities
- Inamo processes 1.8 million+ orders monthly
- Inamo targets 200+ stores by 2026
- A 500 sq ft dark store needs about 150-200 daily orders for profitability
- A 2,000 sq ft dark store needs about 700 daily orders for profitability
- Fairdeal.Market raised $15 million
- Fairdeal.Market serves 1,000+ SKUs within 60 minutes and targets 100,000+ retailers
- DocPharma raised $2 million and plans 100 dark stores
- Zilo raised $15.3 million
- Ozi raised $6.2 million
- FirstClub raised an additional $55 million, taking total funding to $86 million
- Infrastructure-as-a-service EBITDA margins could be capped at 10-15%
Why this matters
Retailers and logistics players should evaluate partnerships or acquisitions in shared dark stores, fulfilment software and specialised last-mile networks before these infrastructure assets consolidate.
What to watch
- Follow-on funding rounds for Inamo, Fairdeal.Market, DocPharma and comparable shared-infrastructure providers.
- Evidence that vertical quick-commerce brands shift from owned dark stores to leased or managed fulfilment capacity.
- Dark-store utilisation rates, order density and contribution-margin disclosures in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi NCR and other leading markets.
- Long-term service agreements between infrastructure providers and pharmacy, beauty, grocery or D2C operators.
- Consolidation, acquisitions or strategic investments by Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart Minutes, Amazon or large retail groups.
- Regulatory changes affecting delivery riders, dark-store zoning, pharmaceutical delivery, food safety or warehouse licensing.
- Raise capital for shared dark-store clusters in dense metro catchments rather than single-brand store networks.
- Secure anchor contracts with vertical commerce, pharmacy, grocery and D2C brands to lock in utilisation before accelerating build-out.
- Bundle warehousing, inventory orchestration, picking technology, rider dispatch and returns into a single service offering.
- Prioritise specialised capabilities such as cold chain, regulated medicine handling, high-SKU inventory management and hyperlocal replenishment.
- Pursue partnerships with large marketplaces and retail chains seeking rapid-delivery capability without owning every fulfilment asset.