Moneycontrol has learned that Dunzo, the quick-commerce player, has been served legal notices by Facebook India Online Services Private Limited (FBI) and Nilenso, a software consultancy firm in Bengaluru, over unpaid dues. Additionally, Google, Dunzo’s second-largest backer, has also issued a legal notice demanding the startup to clear outstanding dues.
While Dunzo has made partial payments to Facebook, it still owes around Rs 1.5 crore to the tech giant for the advertising services it availed but did not fully pay for. Facebook claims that despite repeated efforts to rectify the delinquency, Dunzo acknowledged its liabilities but failed to settle all outstanding balances.
Nilenso, which provides software engineers on contract, has also sent a demand notice under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to Dunzo for outstanding dues of around Rs 2.5 crore.
As the company faces a severe cash crunch, it plans to lay off employees to improve its financial situation. This will be the third round of layoffs within the last seven months, with approximately 20 percent of the workforce, or about 200 employees, expected to be affected.
Dunzo had previously deferred salaries for around 50 percent of its workforce, with the promise of clearing dues by a specific date, but it failed to meet the deadline.
Despite raising $75 million in April, Dunzo continues to struggle with a high burn rate, leading to the need to take various measures to stay afloat, including sourcing products through a marketplace model and increasing delivery fees.
Founded in 2015, Dunzo has raised close to $500 million from investors such as Reliance, Google, Lightrock, Lightbox, Blume Ventures, and others. Reliance is the largest shareholder, holding a 25.8 percent stake, and Google was the second-largest with approximately 19 percent ownership in Dunzo, according to Tracxn.
