ShadowFax

Shadowfax, operated by Shadowfax Technologies Limited, is a Bengaluru-based logistics and delivery company. It provides last-mile and express parcel services to e-commerce and D2C brands, hyperlocal and quick-commerce businesses, and small businesses and individuals sending personal couriers. Core offerings include express parcel (first-mile pickup to last-mile delivery), reverse parcel and returns handling with doorstep quality checks and instant refund enablement, Prime same-day and next-day delivery, Prime Large for shipments above 15 kg, critical logistics for high-value and time-sensitive goods, hyperlocal point-to-point courier for groceries, pharmaceuticals, food and retail, quick-commerce delivery for dark stores and retail outlets, and an electric-vehicle fleet for last-mile deliveries.

The company also runs Shadowfax 360 (SF360), a digital shipping platform for online sellers, D2C brands and marketplaces offering flat-rate pricing, no COD charges, no additional RTO cost and D+2 COD remittance from one dashboard, along with the Shadowfax Courier App for on-demand intra-city pickup and drop-off. Its network is organised around franchise partners, client partners and a crowdsourced pool of delivery partners. Reported clients include Domino's, BigBasket, Amazon, Paytm, Flipkart, Myntra, McDonald's and 1MG.

Shadowfax is preparing for an initial public offering and has been building out its board, adding independent directors in February 2025 and elevating cofounders Praharsh Chandra and Gaurav Jaithlia to whole-time directors in 2025.

Founding story

Shadowfax was founded in April 2015 by IIT Delhi alumni Abhishek Bansal and Vaibhav Khandelwal, who were later joined by fellow IIT Delhi alumni Gaurav Jaithliya and Praharsh Chandra. Bansal, a production and industrial engineering graduate, had worked at Hay Group as a business analyst and associate consultant before starting the company; Khandelwal, an electrical, electronics and communication engineering graduate, had worked at Adobe as a research intern.

Business model

Shadowfax operates a third-party logistics network, charging businesses for delivery and fulfilment services across express parcel, returns, same-day/next-day, hyperlocal and quick-commerce categories. Capacity is supplied through a crowdsourced network of delivery partners and vehicles rather than a wholly owned fleet, supplemented by trucks and operational warehouse space, and distributed through franchise partners. A self-serve digital shipping platform, Shadowfax 360, offers flat-rate pricing with COD remittance for online sellers.

Revenue comes from per-shipment delivery and fulfilment fees paid by e-commerce, D2C, marketplace, hyperlocal and quick-commerce clients, SMEs and individual courier users, including flat-rate shipping plans on the SF360 platform.

Traction

The company's site reports over 200 crore (2 billion) parcels delivered, 3,500+ trucks, over 53 lakh sq ft of operational space, coverage of 16,372+ PIN codes and about 2.9 lakh quarterly delivery partners. Press coverage in early 2025 cited 125,000 monthly active delivery partners, more than 3.5 million registered users, and coverage of roughly 2,500 cities and 18,000 pin codes. Operating revenue for the fiscal year ended March 2024 was Rs 1,885 crore, up 33.2% from Rs 1,415 crore, with net loss cut from Rs 142.6 crore to Rs 11.8 crore.

Latest developments

In early February 2025 Shadowfax was reported to be raising Rs 141.2 crore (about $16.8 million) in a Series F round from Mirae Asset and Nokia Growth Partners, of which Rs 34.2 crore (about $4 million) had already been allotted, as part of a larger targeted raise of up to $50 million; Entrackr estimated a post-allotment valuation of about Rs 5,981 crore ($712 million). The company was reported to be preparing an IPO of Rs 2,500-3,000 crore in the second half of 2025 with JM Financial, Morgan Stanley and ICICI Securities as lead bankers, and strengthened its board through 2025.