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The ethnic products e-tailer is currently in talks with five firms in the mobile and data science space for possible acquisitions

After raising US$34 million in a recent Series C round of funding led by Sequoia India and Lightspeed Venture Partners, online marketplace for Indian ethnic products Craftsvilla.com has set aside INR 65 crore (about US$9.7 million) to buy smaller technology businesses, says a report by The Economic Times.

According to Manoj Gupta, Co-founder of Craftsvilla, the company is in talks with some five companies from the data science and mobile space for possible acquisitions.

Craftsvilla also intends to expand vertically into areas such as “yoga, herbal, and ayurvedic products and tribal handicrafts”, as per this report.

Also Read: Online marketplace Blisby nabs US$300K in seed round led by East Ventures, DeNA

Gupta added that the company has been in talks with startups in Malaysia and Indonesia about potential acquisitions. A typical acquisition would cost Craftsvilla any amount between US$1 to US$2 million, he said.

Another report by Inc42 quoted Gupta as saying that Craftsvilla has plans to go public, but before it does so, it is “looking at a valuation of at least a billion [US] dollars in the next 12 [to] 18 months”.

Additionally, the firm wants to hit US$500 million in gross merchandise volume (GMV) in the next year. It claims to make US$120 million a year currently.

Started in 2011 by Manoj Gupta and Monica Gupta, Craftsvilla is an online marketplace for handmade, vintage, ethnic, organic and natural Indian products. The firm connects local artisans and designers directly to global customers.

The company claims to have listed around 3.5 million products from more than 25,000 artisans and designers. Craftsvilla claims it reaches over a million customers everyday through its website and mobile app.

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