Story summary
The story
Airlift started in Lahore in 2019 as an app for booking seats on air conditioned buses, and it reached Karachi within months. When Covid emptied the roads in early 2020, the buses stopped and the company changed course. It became a grocery delivery service promising orders in about thirty minutes from its own small warehouses, known as dark stores.
Investors loved it. In August 2021 Airlift raised $85 million in a Series B round co led by 20VC and Buckley Ventures, at a valuation of $275 million. It was the largest startup round in Pakistan at the time and took Airlift's total funding to about $110 million. Plans to expand abroad followed, including South Africa.
The ledger told a harder story. In the last quarter of 2021, Airlift sold about $16.9 million worth of goods, but its net revenue, the part it actually kept after paying for those goods, was around $400,000. Every fast delivery cost money, and growth meant spending more of it.
Then the money dried up. Global investors pulled back in 2022. In May, Airlift laid off 31 percent of its staff and closed its South Africa operations. In July a new funding round fell through, and on 13 July 2022 Airlift shut down. The company blamed an unsuccessful fundraise during a global downturn. Around 300 corporate staff and thousands of warehouse and delivery workers lost their jobs.
The ledger
| Date | Item | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2019 | Founded in Lahore as an air conditioned bus service | |
| Early 2020 | Covid hits. Pivot to 30 minute grocery delivery | |
| Aug 2021 | Series B raised | $85M (rise) |
| Aug 2021 | Valuation | $275M (rise) |
| Q4 2021 | Goods sold (gross) | $16.9M |
| Q4 2021 | Revenue kept (net) | $0.4M (fall) |
| May 2022 | Staff laid off, South Africa closed | 31% (fall) |
| 13 Jul 2022 | Airlift shuts down | Closed (fall) |
Munshi's noteFast money buys growth. It does not buy a business that pays for itself.
Sources
- TechCrunch, 17 August 2021Pakistan's Airlift raises $85 million for its quick commerce startup
- Profit (Pakistan Today), 12 July 2022Airlift announces complete shutdown. Profit explains why
- Rest of World, 2022Inside the story of Airlift's crash
- WikipediaAirlift Technologies
Read the transcript
In August 2021, a Pakistani startup raised eighty five million dollars. Eleven months later, it was gone.
Airlift started in 2019 as air conditioned buses in Lahore and Karachi.
Then Covid emptied the roads. So Airlift became grocery delivery: thirty minutes, from its own dark stores.
The money came fast. Eighty five million dollars at a two hundred seventy five million valuation, the biggest round Pakistan had seen.
But look at the ledger. In late 2021 it sold almost seventeen million dollars of goods, and kept about four hundred thousand as revenue.
In May 2022 it cut thirty one percent of staff and left South Africa. In July a new funding round fell through, and Airlift shut down.
Fast money buys growth. It does not buy a business that pays for itself. Follow Munshi for the next story.