Czech online grocer Rohlik secures further €100m, now valued at €1bn

Czech online grocery delivery start-up Rohlik has raised a further €100 million in a Series C funding round, taking its business valuation to €1 billion.

The round was led by Index Ventures, which also took part in Rohlik’s €190 million funding round in March. Existing investors including Partech also participated in this latest round – which has seen Rohlik become the latest start-up to achieve unicorn status and allegedly one of the first from the Czech Republic.

Headquartered in Czech Republic, Rohlik has successfully expanded its home grocery delivery service to Hungary and Austria; and will be launching in Munich in the coming months, followed by other German cities and European countries.

The online grocery delivery business plans to use the funding to support its rapid expansion both within existing European markets and new ones; with its sights set on entering Romania, Italy, France and Spain.

Rohlik also intends to use the capital to develop the best proposition for its customers through deploying new technical tools and extending its product offering – with the ultimate goal of becoming a prominent example of a new ‘21^st century retailer’.

The company currently offers an assortment of more than 17,000 items to choose from, in addition to its own brands of dairy and meat; with plans to enter more product categories.  

Tomáš Čupr, founder and CEO of The Rohlik Group, said: “This investment shows our investors’ confidence in Rohlik Group’s fast growth. We are now perceived as a European company able to scale quickly in the very demanding Western European markets.

“The newly secured funding helps us to accelerate even faster than originally intended, mainly in the areas of new market entries, fulfilment centre automation and the overall pace of innovation, including hiring great talent.” 

Jan Hammer, partner at Index Ventures, added:“Rohlik, which is already profitable in its largest market, is experiencing strong growth in new regions and is outperforming across all metrics. Its unique model, which marries convenience with a full assortment of products, from essential value items to high quality local produce, is proving to be a winning formula.”